Nothing comes easy for an NFL insider, and FOX’s Jay Glazer knows that.
Glazer told The Athletic that like ESPN’s Adam Schefter, like NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, and others who hold the insider title, news just doesn’t get thrown into his lap.
“You still have to work for it,” he said. “I always try to outwork the world.”
Last week Glazer was able to source out important information on what ultimately sealed the fate of Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels. McDaniels was sent packing after it was clear he was given a vote of no confidence by the Raiders locker room.
Glazer said when he works on getting scoops, he sticks to one of the basic facets of reporting – getting all the information he needs confirmed by three different sources before taking it to print or social media or whatever.
“What I can say is I never do a story where I talk to one person about it,” he said. “I don’t go off of one source. The reason why you can’t go off two sources is because one may have told the other. So I will always get three independent sources.”
“I told my bosses at Fox when we were doing the Tom Brady jersey story, I am so paranoid and meticulous about stuff because of what happened with Richard Jewell,” Glazer added. “That always stuck with me. Everybody got it wrong, and they ruined this dude’s life. The way these stories happen is you talk and talk and talk to people.”
Jay Glazer has always been public about his struggles with his mental health. He said on the flip side being an insider isn’t as important as being emotionally available and prioritizing relationships and health over work.
“The minute-by-minute breaking news stuff … it ruined every relationship I ever had,” Glazer said. “I am happily engaged now to Rosie (Tenison), but it was a recent Wednesday and there was no football on, and she said, ‘Hey, I need you to put your phone away.’ I used to be only a reporter. But now as I do more mental health stuff, my relationships have changed, and I try to be more than a reporter. With my mental health situation, I need these relationships. I need to talk to people. I need people around me.”
