Count Bill Simmons among the many who are upset that the beloved NFL Network morning show Good Morning Football is going on a brief hiatus and moving across the country. In the latest edition of The Bill Simmons Podcast, Simmons angrily makes his feelings known about the move and wonders aloud if the move will spell the end of the show — or NFL Network entirely.
Simmons said in the Mar. 20 edition of The Bill Simmons Podcast he thinks NFL Network could cease to exist and be sold to Amazon or Apple, hence the move to bring GMFB to California. Simmons credits the show’s individuality in a landscape of cookie-cutter programming as the reason for its success and why he’ll miss it should anything change.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen to that show,” Simmons said. “It’s an excellent show, I think [it’s] a really unique show in the football landscape. It’s not super-nerdy — it’s accessible. They react off the Sunday and Monday games, and it’s just a fun hang.”
Earlier this month, NFL Network announced Good Morning Football would go on hiatus from the end of March to an undisclosed date in the summer, and move from its New York City studios to California. The show will receive a “syndicated extension” when it relaunches.
“This was the one show that gave the network an identity and they announce, pretty abruptly, that they’re moving the show to Los Angeles — and everyone who works on the show is taken by surprise. I’m not sure if the cast is going to go to LA if they do, the show will start at 5 a.m. (PST) so they’re basically ruining the show.”
While many of the cast and crew of the show haven’t mentioned their future whereabouts, its host has. Jamie Erdahl confirmed yesterday she’s moving with the show to Los Angeles, albeit after she gives birth to her child.
“If you create something that people like and create something that’s a little bit of a brand, that’s the hardest thing to do,” Simmons said. “And they actually did this and they did this on the NFL’s channel in a way that I never felt like those guys were shills for the league. They had real conversations. I thought they were educational, they were fun.”
Some have called Good Morning Football the sport’s best show. Many, Simmons included, credit the show’s dynamic personalities and inter-talent chemistry as the reasons for its success. The show survived losing Kay Adams but repeated changes to the cast could doom what Simmons calls one of two successful NFL shows.
“The only two NFL TV shows that I think have really succeeded are [GMFB] and NFL Live on ESPN, and ESPN would never get rid of NFL Live. So I don’t know what the f**k the NFL is doing but if this show is going to cease to exist, that is dumbfounding to me.
