Joe Buck and Troy Aikman operated without a snag during Monday's Dallas Cowboys-Philadelphia Eagles Monday Night Football production amid chatter of their looming breakup
Troy Aikman
Troy Aikman's job future remains unclear(Image: Getty Images)
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With JJ Watt having signed a new multi-year deal to remain the No. 1 CBS color commentator, ESPN top dog Troy Aikman may find himself out of broadcast options next year.
Will that impact his 2026 on-air professionalism? Is his relationship with Joe Buck salvageable? Is his mind completely focused on a Dallas Cowboys reunion?
This week's NFL Broadcaster Weekly from Mirror U.S. Sports focuses on Aikman's performance in Monday's Cowboys-Philadelphia Eagles game, Tom Brady's honest review of a roughing the passer penalty, and Mike Tomlin's authority on the NBC 'Sunday Night Football' broadcast.
Buck and Aikman, back to business
The stories about Buck and Aikman paint a constant air of tension, but this couldn't be further from their in-the-booth reality.
Monday's contest was an easy one to lean into distractions: Aikman hasn't been shy about floating the idea of a potential Cowboys job next year (Jerry Jones spoke about him on Dallas radio Tuesday morning).
The pair was nothing but professional; Aikman was stubborn as always — he stated that Saquon Barkley would be exiting with an injury before the Eagles running back returned a play later to score a touchdown — and neither addressed any previous off-air spats while on-air.
Some fans on social media wanted to ding Aikman for seemingly avoiding eye contact with Buck at the start of the game. Useless chatter. With ESPN holding the Super Bowl LXI media rights, Buck and Aikman will be nothing but professional across Monday Night Football broadcasts for the rest of the year.
Tom Brady isn't a homer
Brady appreciates a great NFL product more than just great quarterback play. He was irate when Green Bay Packers DT Karl Brooks was flagged for a fourth-quarter roughing the passer penalty when he fell gingerly on Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff.
"My goodness, what is that? There’s no way,” Brady quipped. “Brooks on the tackle kind of makes a great play.......That’s definitely not roughing the passer.”
FOX rules analyst Dean Blandino quickly hopped on the broadcast and agreed with the seven-time Super Bowl winner.
Mike Tomlin, never shy
NBC has deployed former NFL coaches Jason Garrett and Tony Dungy in recent years, but neither has the authority to comment on key 2026 coaching decisions, unlike new hire Mike Tomlin.
The longtime Pittsburgh Steelers coach first torched New York Jets coach Aaron Glenn's timeout management — his teams have been outscored 107–6 in the final two minutes of the first half.
"If I were them, I would do two-minute every day of my life until further notice," Tomlin joked.
The NBC man then backed up Lions coach Dan Campbell for a questionable fourth-down-go decision in the fourth quarter of a nervy win over the rival Packers.
“It centers around elite quarterback play,” Tomlin said of the decision. “When you got elite quarterback play, particularly when you’re playing elite quarterback play, you want to make sure your guy at least has a chance to have the ball at the end of the game."