The 107-mile drive from the ESPN Seaport District Studios in New York City to the company headquarters in Bristol, Conn. is filled with scenic views blending the urban facade with the idyllic countryside. While a variety of passengers opt to use the time to take in their surroundings, rest or scroll on social media, Dan Orlovsky takes the approach of a quarterback and continues his incessant preparation to arrive at his final destination prepared to step in front of the camera and deliver for the audience.
From the third week of August until mid-February, Orlovsky is working seven days a week. In the waning weekend hours, Orlovsky commences rewatching the games that will be among the salient points of discussion the next morning. Immediately upon awakening on Monday, he views the Sunday Night Football game and is usually in New York City appearing on Get Up with Mike Greenberg and/or First Take with Stephen A. Smith and Molly Qerim.
As he leaves for Bristol for NFL Live, he watches additional Sunday games and takes copious notes before waking up at 5 a.m. in the morning the next day. Orlovsky continues to sift through every snap until Wednesday afternoon, finishing the series while remaining adept to rinse and repeat for weeks to come. Being among the first commentators viewers see on television on the Monday morning following a Sunday of action-packed NFL games is a position he does not take for granted.
“There’s literally millions of people who would want that opportunity,” Orlovsky said. “I’m not going to give it to them because of lack of preparation, lack of passion, lack of energy, lack of desire. They’re going to have to take it from me, but good luck, so that’s my motivation.”
Many of Orlovsky’s observations and perspectives emanate from visual evidence where he analyzes plays from the viewpoint of the quarterback. After all, he played the position professionally over 12 seasons, preceded by a four-year stint as a starter at the University of Connecticut. When Orlovsky was drafted by the Detroit Lions, the team was facing impediments and hardships as it tried to snap a playoff drought dating back to the 1999 season.
Orlovsky did not start a game until his fourth season, during which he made an infamous play where he ran out of his endzone for a safety. The Minnesota Vikings ended up winning the game by a two-point margin and made the playoffs, whereas the Lions finished winless in the 16-game season. Orlovsky started 12 of the 26 games that he played over his NFL career, and while his time on the gridiron was limited, he made the most of being within the environment.
“When you’re in this industry, it can become very much about you and you can get drunk on yourself,” Orlovsky said, “and being part of a team, I’ve learned that you can be as good as you want in TV individually, but if you’re not good on a show, you’re never going to be as good as you should be.”
Although the NFL Live team is not always together in Bristol, the afternoon program exudes chemistry. Orlovsky first started working on the show on a part-time basis in 2019 where he had the chance to discuss football with Laura Rutledge, Ryan Clark, Mina Kimes and Marcus Spears. The dichotomy and variety between the studio shows is part of the eminence and consumer appeal the network provides, and Orlovsky takes pride in being the program responsible for breaking down football in a detailed way that deviates from debate.
“I think respect is at the bloodline of it,” Orlovsky said. “We all have a tremendous amount of respect for each other as people, we have a tremendous amount of respect for each other as jobs in our roles and we’re all really interested [in] what the other person’s going to say. We have great foundational friendships.”
Making it to television as part of a venerated, preeminent NFL studio program was not initially on the agenda for Orlovsky, but everything changed while watching a Sunday Night Football shortly after he was cut by the Los Angeles Rams in 2017. Amid a play in which Cam Newton detected an all-out pressure in man coverage from the defense, he called a wide-receiver screen at the line of scrimmage and successfully threw for a touchdown. Orlovsky recognized that the broadcast did not discuss what had occurred.
At the suggestion of his wife, he posted a video to social media where he conveyed what took place and the significance of the play, and it quickly went viral. Peter Schrager, one of the hosts of Good Morning Football on NFL Network, reached out via social media and asked him to perform a similar breakdown live on the show. From the first time he appeared on the program, he felt a mixture of nerves and energy but perceived it as going well.
“Post-show, I had a lot of different people reach out and say really positive and encouraging things, and that’s when I knew,” Orlovsky said. “It didn’t feel like it was phony, so I knew in that moment. I was like, ‘That’s it. I’m going to do this, and I’m going to be good at it.’”
Orlovsky evinces a clear juxtaposition between taking his job seriously but not himself, and he is also comfortable in working with his colleagues. Furthermore, he understands the strengths of his counterparts, assisting in leveraging their portrayals through the implicit acumen of the parameters by which the show functions most optimally.
“I think a lot of people gravitate towards the show because of the people first and the football second,” Orlovsky said, “and so as long as we continue to be ourselves and focus on the fundamental parts of why [the] NFL has become what it’s become… people will watch, and the football is kind of the vehicle that we engage with people [through] and to give them a good hour and to give them a good, ‘Hey, I want to watch that group again talk about football.’”
The proficiency Orlovsky has from playing the sport to his hypervigilant preparation before discussing the NFL at large has paid dividends throughout his time in sports media. With the repetition of meticulously viewing moments from every NFL game, he is building cognition and hastening his recall.
“We’ll watch every snap, yeah, and it’s a rhythm that kind of allows me to have everything done that I need to get done and be prepared for, and then I have that bank,” Orlovsky said.
Orlovsky recently deleted a post on X that read, “Protect our daughters,” after Angela Carini exited her Olympics boxing match against Imane Khelif after 46 seconds because of concerns regarding her power. Although he keeps a presence on social media where he shares his thoughts on football and other aspects of his life to his followers, he understands that his profile is more than just a personal medium. Early in his broadcast career, he was taught not to step on a landmine and throw a metaphorical grenade on his career by his actions online.
“When you’re an employee of a big company, your social media page doesn’t just get to be your social media page,” Orlovsky said. “That’s a fantasy, so you have to represent yourself and the company that you work for in the proper way.”
Over the years, Orlovsky has served as a color commentator on NFL broadcasts for ESPN and NFL Network where he has been able to divulge his thoughts on the action in real time to the audience. The in-game analyst is equipped with accompanying tools such as graphics, touchscreens and video that can help them more efficiently and effectively illustrate their points.
Prior to the 2022 NFL season, Orlovsky was named to the No. 2 television booth for the NFL on ESPN with Steve Levy and Louis Riddick. While he oftentimes appears on studio programming, Orlovsky values his time calling games and hopes to be able to sustain it long term.
“I’m very aware of where I get to work,” Orlovsky said. “Dude, I’m on ESPN. This is ESPN. It is still an unbelievable blessing and reality to have that – that’s part of the reason why I work so hard [is] because I know that millions of people would want my chair – and the same with the games and the studio.”
The Walt Disney Company broadcast five NFL doubleheaders last season and televised games on ESPN and ABC. Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Lisa Salters, the lead broadcast team for Monday Night Football, called one of the marquee matchups taking place in these instances. The other game airing simultaneously featured Orlovsky and Riddick, along with play-by-play announcer Chris Fowler and Laura Rutledge working as the sideline reporter. With assuming more responsibility, he also knows that he is subject to criticism and understands that he will not be universally revered.
“You’re always going to have people who don’t like you, and you’re always going to have people who think you’re not good at it or [whatnot], that’s just our world,” Orlovsky said. “But being respected by the fans, being respected by the coaches that are attached to both college football and the NFL and being respected by the players that are attached to both of them, and when you’re saying stuff or talking about football or teaching, people respect the thoughts that you have and the vision that you have and the insight that you share – that’s the good journey.”
FOX Sports tried to hire Orlovsky to join its NFL broadcasting roster, and there has been palpable interest in his commentary over the years. With his contract at ESPN expiring next year, he is open to giving up his studio obligations to work on a No. 1 NFL commentary team, granting him an opportunity to call the Super Bowl. That being said, he is not sure if that is the only way and believes that he can find a way to do both, but he is more focused on staying in the present moment and being the best in the business this season.
“I want to be on the most important stuff at the place that I work,” Orlovsky said. “What’s the most important stuff? No matter where I am, I want to be on the most important stuff.”
Derek Futterman is a contributing editor and sports media reporter for Barrett Media. Additionally, he has worked in a broad array of roles in multimedia production – including on live game broadcasts and audiovisual platforms – and in digital content development and management. He previously interned for Paramount within Showtime Networks, wrote for the Long Island Herald and served as lead sports producer at NY2C. To get in touch, find him on X @derekfutterman.
