The program Training Camp: Back Together Weekend, which aired July 26 and 27, has a double meaning for NFL Network. Yes, the show was all about NFL teams and players getting back together to prepare for the 2025 football season. In addition, it signaled a reunion of NFL Network’s broadcast crew. Training Camp: Back Together Weekend and the ensuing Inside Training Camp programming featured some great moments for many of the NFL Network talents including Bucky Brooks, Mike Yam, Jamie Erdahl, Mike Garafolo, and Kimmi Chex. Leading the way, however, was Kyle Brandt.
It is quite refreshing to have live football coverage back on NFL Network. As opposed to reruns of games, rehashing of the draft, and reviewing offseason player movement.
I tuned into Training Camp: Back Together Weekend, I was glued to my television set as Brandt was live at Pittsburgh Steelers camp, filing two excellent interviews.
Brandt Shines Behind the Steel Curtain
He opened his exchange with Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers saying, “21 seasons, CSI couldn’t do it. Gunsmoke couldn’t do it. This guy’s been on the air as long as Grey’s Anatomy.” Always with the pop-culture references. Brandt’s interview with Rodgers covered a number of hot topics related to the 41-year-old quarterback.
Brandt and Rodgers talked about the irony inherent in the Steelers’ opening week matchup with Rodgers’ former team, the Jets. Oddly enough, Rodgers will also play against his original NFL club, the Green Bay Packers. The captivating interview also covered some offseason comments made by ex-Steeler and current FOX analyst Terry Bradshaw regarding Rodgers. As Rodgers’ contemplation about coming to Pittsburgh extended into weeks and months, Bradshaw stated, “It’s a joke, stay in California, chew on bark and whisper to the gods.” Rodgers responded to Brandt’s query saying that Bradshaw is a legend in football and in media, that he would like to sit down with Bradshaw, get to know him more, and even form a deeper friendship. It was a fascinating answer to a controversial question.
He was squarely on his interview game when he asked Rodgers about conversations with Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin leading up to signing with Pittsburgh. Rodgers said that in their discussions, Tomlin didn’t say what he needed from the veteran quarterback. Instead, Rodgers described their chats as similar to conversations with an old friend.
His questions and style showed Rodgers as a real person, not the aloof, cartoonish, or self-centered dude he has often been made out to be by the media. What I got from this interview is that Aaron Rodgers is just a guy who’s been living his life the way he wants to live it—not caring about what others think. To this point, I know there are a lot of people out there who think that Rodgers doesn’t appreciate football or love the game. One of Brandt’s questions showed the fallacy in this thought. In a somewhat emotional answer, Rodgers told Brandt that everything he has in life that is good came from football and reiterated several times how much he loves the game. It really was a refreshing look at the inscrutable QB.
Just as terrific was Brandt’s interview with Tomlin on Training Camp: Back Together Weekend. The pair offered a wonderful exchange highlighted by rifling through some of the head coach’s favorite sayings known as Tomlinisms. The duo delved into such bon mots as, “If you have red paint, you paint the barn red.” “The standard is the standard.” And, “I can tell you all the ingredients of the hot dog, but you might not like it.” It was really fun watching Brandt reel off these sayings and then hearing Tomlin explain what they actually mean.
He also asked Tomlin a pointed question about coaching Rodgers this year. Instead of just spewing the usual BS coach speak, Tomlin seemed quite at ease with Brandt and went deeper. He said he wants to get to know Rodgers more and tap into the QB’s 21 years of experience. Tomlin seemed quite enthusiastic about getting closer with Rodgers and learning what makes him tick. Tomlin did say that it would be a challenge coaching Rodgers—not because of his reputation as a free spirit, but because Rodgers has played for so long and has pretty much seen everything. Brandt then asked Tomlin about the many new veteran players on the Steelers’ roster. Tomlin gave a terrific answer, saying that he looks forward to the challenge of teaching an old dog some new tricks.
I was really happy that Brandt also asked Tomlin about never having a losing record in his 18 years of coaching the Steelers. Ever the self-effacing guy, Tomlin said he doesn’t really think about it a lot, it’s not on his radar, and that he’s more focused on the task at hand and not his cumulative career. To me, Tomlin’s streak is one of the most amazing in all of sports. I get that he has only won one Super Bowl and has missed the playoffs at times. But to string together that many non-losing seasons is extremely remarkable. Don Shula didn’t do that. Bill Belichick didn’t do that. Nor did many other legendary coaches.
Bringing Out the Humanity in the Subject
These two excellent interviews were painted by a master artist in Kyle Brandt. We all know that Brandt is terrific in studio on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football with his dogged enthusiasm, creativity, and encyclopedic knowledge, but this multi-talented football maven is a first-string interviewer. I really enjoyed his back-and-forths with both Rodgers and Tomlin. Rodgers has become a polarizing and enigmatic figure with his forays into mindfulness, high-profile personal life, and often self-serving comments. Thanks to The Pat McAfee Show and the internet, we know way too much about Aaron Rodgers. This guy has found himself squarely on the defensive with the media—a regular source of ridicule and rancor, often deserved. Even with his pal A.J. Hawk on McAfee, Rodgers has frequently been put in a position where he has to defend his life.
To be honest, I much prefer the Aaron Rodgers I saw in the interview with Brandt—and I credit the interviewer. He was piercing with his questions but jovial in his demeanor. There is a calming incisiveness to Brandt’s style that puts people at ease but gets his point across. Brandt’s velvet touch got as much information out of Rodgers as McAfee ever did.
Same thing with Tomlin. The Steelers’ head coach is extremely intense, but Brandt was able to break through that exterior and make Tomlin smile and even laugh a few times. That is the genius of Brandt as an interviewer. By putting a subject at ease, that subject is more likely to speak openly. It’s just a fact. I learned a lot about Aaron Rodgers and Mike Tomlin in these interviews. Moreover, they seemed to actually enjoy the interview process. As opposed to being forced to tolerate dumb questions and give trite, hackneyed answers.
We all know Brandt as the Angry Runs warrior and a guy who often brings a pro wrestling mentality to football coverage, but I really liked this calmed down and more cerebral Kyle Brandt. Interviewing is a skill—perhaps the most difficult skill in sports broadcasting—and Brandt really showed me something. I was glued to the screen and totally rapt by Brandt’s questions that led to Rodgers and Tomlin’s thoughtful answers. Brandt’s interview approach is both dramatic and in-depth, yet lighthearted. Think Barbara Walters meets Roy Firestone meets Jimmy Fallon—but it is undoubtedly Kyle Brandt whose talent makes us all glad that we are back together with football.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
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.
