Kyle Brandt is nothing less than authentic. A football fan who wears his passion for the sport on his sleeve every day in any manner possible. Born on the north side of Chicago, he lives for a return to the glory days of the “Monsters of the Midway,” but embraces the majesty of the NFL portrait painted every season.
For the last ten years, Brandt has been a leading voice on the NFL Network’s flagship morning show Good Morning Football. A pigskin priority for those who share the same passion as Brandt. Serving up a feast of information, analysis, and fun every morning throughout the year.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this. I’m entering my tenth season of Good Morning Football on the NFL Network,” said Brandt. “I’m very proud to say that it hasn’t changed much in the sense that we haven’t given into, ‘Let’s all scream at each other. Let’s have constant debates and say nuclear off-the-wall things just to see the reaction online.’”
Brandt will be entering this season on Good Morning Football alongside co-hosts Jamie Erdahl, Manti Te’o, and Sherree Burruss, with a rotation of former players mixed into the group throughout the season. The tone of the program has always remained the same: football should be fun. Cutting through the debates and noise of sports media with an understanding that, at its core, football is just a game.
“The show was always conceived as four people sitting at a table who like football. That’s what it still is,” noted Brandt. “I see a lot of shows that talk about football that look like they’re not having any fun at all. In fact, they look miserable and pissed off. They look angry. Especially in the morning, you can’t have people waking up to that.”
Always Be True to the Audience
Brandt leans on his honesty and authentic nature that he has always possessed. From starring in an MTV reality series to his background as a producer for The Jim Rome Show, he has never shied away from being his true self when presenting content to an audience. Brandt has always aimed to be a host that is the same on air as he is in person.
“The one thing that has always served me well is authenticity,” said Brandt. “I can tell that if I watch that person on television and I talk to them in the parking lot, they will talk the same way. It’s my favorite kind of people.”
Leaning into his authentic nature, Brandt was one of the first people at NFL Network to comment publicly about ESPN’s acquisition of it. Following the league exchanging a 10% stake of equity into ESPN for the rights to acquire the network, Brandt proclaimed his excitement but also recognized the unknown. He takes pride in the fact that Good Morning Football hasn’t changed much since its inception but understands the uneasiness of the newfound partnership.
“I don’t have any ability to say things that I don’t believe in. I know there’s gold in them hills, and there are people who make a living screaming stuff. God bless them. They have nice swimming pools,” said Brandt. “I don’t have any ability to do that, and I don’t have a pool. So I got to go with the horse I rode in on.”
A Guiding Voice for NFL Classics
In Brandt’s time working through the ranks of sports media, his relationships with Jamie Horowitz and Peyton Manning led the Omaha Productions group to approach him with a unique concept: an opportunity to reexamine classic NFL games through the lens of the players who lived it and die-hard fans who can’t forget it. The product, entitled NFL Classics: After Further Review, was born with Brandt leaping at the chance.
“This just came to me. I hear actors say all the time about if they work long enough, they get offers instead of auditioning. I was like holy s**t, you guys want me to be in this? This sounds cool,” said Brandt.
The six-part series, featured on VICE Sports in partnership with Omaha Productions and the NFL, showcases real game footage alongside picture-in-picture commentary by Brandt and his guests per episode. A selection of games ranges from the 1995 NFC Championship game featuring the Dallas Cowboys’ fourth-quarter comeback over the Green Bay Packers to Super Bowl XXI with Phil Simms and Chris “Mad Dog” Russo joining Brandt in reliving the New York Giants’ victory over the Denver Broncos.
The selection process of the games was a joint effort between Brandt, Omaha Productions, and the NFL. Brandt said the NFL accommodated whatever assets were needed to produce the program. While planning for the show, Brandt intentionally decided not to watch the games ahead of taping. Ensuring an authentic reaction to the replay.
“The reaction on the show is authentic. The funny thing is a lot of the players who played in the games don’t remember the plays either,” explained Brandt. “To have a show that has unfettered access to NFL Films’ vault is rare. They protect that stuff, and they should because it’s so valuable… It’s striking that we don’t have the same highlights you’ve seen a thousand times.”
Reliving Being a Fan
Of the six episodes in the series on VICE Sports, only one stands out as the lone non-postseason contest. The 2006 Monday Night Football classic between the Arizona Cardinals and the Chicago Bears, Brandt’s personal favorite team. A game that he attended while living in California but left a lasting impression on him.
“I was there for not necessarily the best comeback, but certainly the weirdest,” explained Brandt. “That’s why I picked that game [for the series]. That’s the last NFL game I ever attended as a true fan. It’s the craziest game in the history of Monday Night Football. Yet it’s still best known for the postgame because of the coach [Dennis Green]. That game’s nuts.”
The look of After Further Review may look familiar for some football fans. The style of broadcast resembles the highly popular Manningcast broadcasts seen on ESPN2 during the NFL season: a game in progress with live commentary providing insight, analysis, stories, and fun. A concept that has found success in recent years, and something Brandt would be open to with the NFL Network’s new partners at ESPN.
“I’m open to anything. We’re in the new frontier here. The advantage that our show [After Further Review] has over the Manningcast is our games are never terrible. We’re undefeated,” noted Brandt. “I like the market of taking the Manningcast and putting it into not only just old or classic games, but games that are always going to be good.”
NFL Classics: After Further Review debuts tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. on VICE TV featuring Kyle Brandt guiding the conversation alongside Hall of Famers Michael Irvin and Emmitt Smith. The series promises an entertaining and informative look behind the scenes, reliving some of the most historic moments in NFL history with an authentic presentation of a shared love for football.
Something which Kyle Brandt wouldn’t have any other way.
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.
