Bill Belichick, media star?

Of Eli Manning and Red Barber

Good morning, all. I hope your week is off to a terrific start.

The NFL regular season begins in less than a month and the talk about Bill Belichick, lurking over coaches whose jobs may be dangling by a thread, seems to have subsided for the moment. Could it be that is because Belichick could turn out to be a media star?

Belichick’s relationship with the Boston media was distant at best, though he did do a weekly radio show for a stipend, I might add. His press conferences after a Patriots’ loss were short and not so sweet, and even during the good times Belichick was not the most quotable person. Since his Patriots departure, however, he has been a frequent presence in the media, offering insight on the draft, being humorous as a speaker at celebrity events and becoming a must-listen in various guest appearances on radio, television and podcasts.

As the season approaches, Belichick has a full plate of shows lined up. He will be part of the “ManningCast” on Monday Night Football, make a weekly appearance on the “Pat McAfee Show,” provide analysis on CW’s “Inside the NFL,” and have his own You Tube show. Phew! That’s a schedule.

Perhaps Belichick, 72, will enjoy his role so much he will not desire a return to coaching, content to let Don Shula remain the all-time winningest coach.

If Belichick does become a hit as a media personality, he would not be the first athlete, coach or manager who succeeded in a field with whom he used to battle. I am told by those who used to cover the New York Giants, that Michael Strahan was a you-know-what to deal with as a player. Paul O’Neil was no great shakes either, when he played with the New York Yankees and neither was Joe Girardi, when he managed the Bombers. All have succeeded, however, in the media. Girardi, in fact, has become one of the best baseball commentators on Yankees and Cubs telecasts, combining humor with insight.

If Belichick decides to stick with the media and not return to coaching, it would not come as a shock.

Of Eli Manning and Red Barber

It will be 32 years in October that Red Barber passed away, so you can imagine my surprise when I heard former Giants quarterback Eli Manning, waxing eloquently about the legendary broadcaster on the Yankees radio network Sunday. Manning was in the booth, after throwing out the first pitch, as part of the Yankees celebrating 100 years of Giants football. An Eli Manning bobblehead doll was even given to fans.

The day before, Manning was in Mississippi. He and Barber were part of a class inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. Manning, who is also a baseball fan, told Yankees broadcasters Suzyn Waldman and Justin Shackil he was aware of Barber, but after meeting those at the event who represented the “Ol’ Redhead,” he made it a point to read up on the broadcaster on the flight back to New York. Suddenly, Manning was talking about Barber broadcasting football games, the World Series and becoming a legend in New York, broadcasting games of the Brooklyn Dodgers and Yankees.

Let’s just say I never expected, tuning into a Yankees game in 2024, hearing Eli Manning talking about Red Barber, one of my favorite broadcasters and Vin Scully’s mentor.

I once interviewed Barber and am happy to see some authors sourcing that interview on the rare occasion a story is written about him. And I still get annoyed that Yankees president Michael Burke fired Barber after the 1966 season. Burke claimed Barber’s time had passed as a broadcaster, although he later retracted that statement.

The book on Barber was that he could be a pain, dealing with colleagues, and was particularly upset at the growing role of color commentators on broadcasts. He always felt the play-by-play man should be the show. But if that was the biggest criticism, then what of Scully? He had it in his contract that he was to be the sole broadcaster on Dodgers’ telecasts, in his later years. Who could ever recall a play-by-play man working solo on television? Scully demanded it and got his way.

As Barber wrote in his numerous books, some of his best work came in his last two seasons with the Yankees, 1965 and 1966. In two short years, this once proud franchise, which had been to every World Series but two between 1949-64, had suddenly tumbled to the cellar. For the most part, the cast of players were the same but the victories were much fewer, making it more difficult, if you were a broadcaster, to keep the audience from tuning out.

If you are a fan of baseball broadcasters from yesteryear, do yourself a favor and listen to the July 3, 1966 broadcast between the Yankees and Washington Senators. Barber called the last five innings of the contest, which went extras, solo. His compelling call, without hype, breathed life into a game involving two clubs going nowhere in the standings. Without embellishment, but with a superb command of the language and the skills of the reporter Barber always insisted he was, his description of the game would have made you believe the lowly Yankees and Senators were battling for the pennant.

Red Barber had lost nothing off his fastball in 1966, despite Burke’s comments. In reality, the Yankees were reducing their broadcast team from four to three to save money and Barber was the one who drew the short straw. Sadly, it was the New York audience that was cheated of being denied the chance to enjoy Barber’s talents.

In his latter years, Barber resurfaced as an author, newspaper columnist and a regular, Friday guest on NPR’s award-winning “Morning Edition” with Bob Edwards. In fact, Edwards even wrote a book about the popular segment, “Mornings With Red.”

Leave it to Eli Manning, who has a knack for putting others first, to shine the light on Red Barber and not himself, during Sunday’s radio interview.

That is going to do it for today’s newsletter. As always, thank you for your support. There will not be a newsletter next week, but I will return August 20 with another edition. Be well and stay safe.

DAN LOVALLO