Rodney Harrison’s penchant for providing objective analysis is one of the primary reasons he excels as an analyst on NBC’s highly rated “Football Night in America.” Despite maintaining relationships with players and coaches, Harrison isn’t afraid to dish out criticism when it’s warranted.
It’s one of the hardest aspects of being an analyst, and Harrison was tested immediately. In the middle of his first season with NBC, the Patriots were leading the Colts 34-28 with 2:08 remaining on “Sunday Night Football,” and Bill Belichick inexplicably went for it on 4th-and-2. Tom Brady completed a short pass to Kevin Faulk, but he was tackled short of the first-down marker.
The Colts came back and won the game, thanks to the short field.
Following the failed conversion, Harrison was brought in for instant reaction. Memorably, he said it was one of the worst decisions he’s ever seen Belichick make. In a recent story with Mike Reiss about ex-Patriots stars excelling on TV, Harrison recalls how uncomfortable he was.
“They’re like ‘Rodney, we have to come to you.’ I’m like, ‘Holy crap! You’re coming to me?,’” Harrison said. “And they’re like, ‘Yeah, a 1-on-1, and Bob [Costas] is going to ask if you agreed with the call, what Belichick did.’ So they ask the question and I said that I’ve known Belichick for a long time, and I’ve seen him make a lot of decisions, but this had to be one of the worst I’ve ever seen him make.”
In the story, Harrison credits Belichick’s coaching as maybe the biggest reason he’s been able to succeed in punditry (Tedy Bruschi, Willie McGinest and Rob Ninkovich are also interviewed for the piece, and say the same thing). But still, Harrison didn’t allow his personal admiration for Belichick to cloud his analysis. In other words, he was doing his job.
When Harrison ran into Belichick at a Patriots Hall of Fame ceremony, his old coach told him he understands.
“I was just up there for the Patriots Hall of Fame [in 2019], and Belichick told me and Willie McGinest, 'Look, if you guys have to criticize me, I understand it. You have a job to do,’” Harrison told Reiss. “I was like, 'Coach, I have no problem with that!' It was nice for him to say that, because somebody that gave me an opportunity, who really believed in you, the last thing you want to do is criticize him. But I had to do my job.”
The entire article is well worth the read. Harrison is entering his 13th season with NBC.