NFL Network’s Good Morning Football (GMFB) is less a TV show and more a daily football party. With guests from inside and outside the game, inventive segments, and upbeat commentary, it has become the football show that everyone watches – and wants to be on as well.
But beyond the content, the strength of the program is its latest batch of co-hosts. Lead host Jamie Erdahl, Kyle Brandt, Peter Schrager, and newcomer Jason McCourty have taken pigskin repartee to new heights of fun. So, let’s check the roster and rundown on each player.
Jamie Erdahl has the All-American look and personality of the ultimate girl next door, as long as you live next door to an NFL stadium. With her packed resume, she is proficient in debating all sports, but her singular enthusiasm for football is palpable.
Erdahl’s willingness to put herself out there with vigor and attitude are outstanding. When former GMFB host Kay Adams decided to leave the show for a more lucrative deal with FanDuel, I felt it would be beyond difficult to replace her. Erdahl has made the transition seamless.
She brings knowledge and exuberance and is brave enough to either tell the joke or be the punch line. Her versatility plays well against the strong personality of Brandt, the subtle style of McCourty, and the button-down subtlety of Schrager.
Kyle Brandt is simply TNT in a football jersey and sneakers. His love for football and pop-culture references detonate on the air every morning. GMFB usually opens with a wide shot of all the hosts, and you can already see Brandt going into the slow boil – his head nodding and his leg twitching ready to pounce on any subject.
Brandt is wild, loud, humorous, and magnetic taking on all subjects and preaching the gridiron gospel. In five years, he could be hosting NBC’s Tonight Show or blanketing the country as a roving preacher healing the sick, discouraged, and people who despise Thursday Night Football.
Brandt’s “Angry Runs” feature during the NFL season has become must-see television, and the repartee between him and Schrager is fascinating. Brandt knows how to get the best out of his more subdued co-host. He often tweaks Schrager just to bring the energy up and tap into Schrager’s vast knowledge and passion.
Brandt is like the lead singer of an ‘80s metal band – part David Lee Roth, part Jon Bon Jovi, part Ronnie James Dio, and part Kip Winger. He’s got the sound, the look, the bombast, the knowledge, and the belief that you absolutely have to hear what he is about to say.
GMFB newcomer Jason McCourty has been an absolute revelation. Other than Tony Romo‘s debut as a CBS game analyst in 2017, I’m not sure any former football player has made a smoother transition to broadcasting.
McCourty provides real, raw, and truthful analysis from someone who was inside NFL locker rooms for 13 seasons. Howard Cosell used to bemoan the Jockocracy of former players on television, but let’s face it, players know things that reporters and broadcasters simply do not.
McCourty’s NFL career was spent mostly with non-playoff teams until he won a Super Bowl with New England. His experience on losing teams is as valuable as that 2018 championship season.
McCourty also brings viewpoints on social justice, charitable, and community outreach issues from his many such endeavors with his brother Devin McCourty. He can also dissect any defensive or offensive scheme because he has pretty much seen them all.
Of all the Good Morning Football hosts, Peter Schrager is the most inscrutable and intriguing. He can play the whimsical, wide-eyed fan, and then immediately pivot to a hardscrabble, experienced NFL working media perspective.
These reporter’s chops are what separates Schrager from the other GMFB hosts. It is his strength. Schrager seems staid amid the fervor of Erdahl, Brandt, and McCourty, but the show needs that.
He provides insight, information, and a wealth of knowledge due to his multi-media experience. Erdahl is a terrific personality able to blend and connect with the audience. Brandt is an unpredictable phenom. McCourty brings a players perspective with articulation and knowledge, but it is Schrager who brings a high media IQ, deep commentary, and a knowledge of what storylines will hit home with viewers.
When you strip it down, GMFB is really all about fun with regular segments and activities on the streets of New York and welcoming actors, musicians, and entertainers as guests.
These days, the opening “Lead Block” segment takes us to training camp for highlights, injury reports, and roster cuts. On the August 1 edition, former NFL superstar Dante Hall did a “3 on 3” segment with McCourty, dissecting the top secondary and wide receiver corps in the NFL.
One of the more underrated aspects of GMFB are the news updates with anchor/reporter Will Selva. His dry sense of humor and droll repartee with all of the hosts are highlights for sure. On the same show, Brandt offered a sentimental tribute to departed actor Paul Reubens and his Pee-Wee Herman character. He called Reubens “brilliant, creative, completely fearless.”
The same can be said for some of the inventive GMFB segments. In one recent sketch called “Role Call,” Brandt humorously compared Tom Cruise to Tyreek Hill and Larry David to Aaron Rodgers.
Another entertaining segment on a recent show was “We In or We Out” where the hosts say whether they believe an NFL news story. One question asked if Anthony Richardson would be starting for the Colts in Week 1. Whiteboard questions are also typical GMFB fare. One recent question asked which ‘80s or ‘90s classic production you’d like to see done as a Broadway musical.
The August 2 edition of Good Morning Football gave Schrager the lead talking about his much ballyhooed interview with Aaron Rodgers where the Jets’ quarterback fired back at Broncos’ head coach Sean Payton for criticizing former Denver head coach and current Jets’ offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett.
Schrager goaded Rodgers into channeling his inner Will Smith saying that Payton should keep his coach’s name out of his mouth. Schrager also talked about the personal aspect of this controversy focusing on Hackett‘s family and how they’ve had to deal with public criticism both last year and this past week.
Unlike many other shows, GMFB included excerpts from Payton’s entire diatribe which also included criticism of Broncos’ staffers still with the team. This was sensitive ground for Schrager who worked side by side with Payton on FOX. McCourty asked Schrager if he thought an apology from Payton was imminent. Schrager’s response was an emphatic “No.”
Good Morning Football is a fast-paced and effervescent look at all things football. Better have that second cup of coffee because you might miss one or more of the hosts jumping around the set, reporters from cities across the NFL landscape, analysis of the Steelers and Bears’ offenses, and even a visit from pro wrestler Seth Rollins, all in a 20 minute span.
Whether you are a serious fan or just looking for some serious fun, GMFB provides a rollicking, riveting, and ribald look at America’s favorite sport.
John Molori is a weekly columnist for Barrett Sports Media. He has previously contributed to ESPNW, Patriots Football Weekly, Golf Content Network, Methuen Life Magazine, and wrote a syndicated Media Blitz column in the New England region, which was published by numerous outlets including The Boston Metro, Providence Journal, Lowell Sun, and the Eagle-Tribune. His career also includes fourteen years in television as a News and Sports Reporter, Host, Producer working for Continental Cablevision, MediaOne, and AT&T. He can be reached on Twitter @MoloriMedia.
