1. With Jimmy Johnson announcing his retirement from Fox NFL Sunday yesterday, the show is down to six cast members: Curt Menefee, Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long, Michael Strahan, Rob Gronkowski and Jay Glazer.
Replacing Johnson is completely unnecessary, but networks love to have bloated pregame shows, so you can be sure Fox will plug someone into Johnson’s spot, instead of just going with the cast it has now, which would be perfectly fine.
In addition, you have to believe the end is near for Terry Bradshaw as a weekly panelist on the show, so Fox has to factor that into its plans and think of the future of the show.
Fox could put in a stopgap for a year or two, until eventually parting ways with the 78-year-old Bradshaw, and then bring in a top-level hire to fill the Johnson/Bradshaw void. If the network chooses to go this route, it could elevate one of its own people, such as Julian Edelman, or bring in a recently fired head coach, such as Ron Rivera.
But Fox is about hiring A-list stars. Just look at Tom Brady. Just look at Derek Jeter. Just look at David Ortiz. You have to keep that in mind when speculating about who would be attractive to the network.
For years, there’s been talk about Rams coach Sean McVay getting into broadcasting. I wrote a piece about McVay’s potential as an analyst last August after he did some work during a preseason game. It’s not exactly going out on a limb to say that Fox would have major interest in McVay if he decides to get out of coaching in the near future.
The person, though, that must appeal to Fox more than anyone is Aaron Rodgers. He’s a future Hall of Famer and one of the best quarterbacks in the history of the league. He has shown in his weekly appearance on the Pat McAfee Show that he knows how to create buzz. He loves attention.
There isn’t an A+ name out there at the moment to replace Johnson. But with the possibility Rodgers becoming available in a year or two, the plan for Fox to plug in a stopgap to replace Johnson, and possibly Bradshaw, would make the most sense for now.
2. Here’s how big John Cena’s heel turn was on Saturday night: Jon Stewart did a full breakdown of it, complete with a clip from First Take talking about Cena’s heel turn, on Monday’s Daily Show.
.@JonStewart breaks down how Trump and Zelenskyy's meeting turned into a WWE Smackdown pic.twitter.com/XIXMMozI5v
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) March 4, 2025
3. When the report came out last week that the University of North Carolina would be featured on the offseason version of HBO’s Hard Knocks, I was extremely skeptical that it would happen. I also thought, if it did happen, it was going to be terrible.
Debbie Downer Alert: There is a 0% chance Bill Belichick, with final edit, will allow anything good to air on Hard Knocks. It will be worth a watch, but you will get nothing of substance. pic.twitter.com/RlMnAYDtcz
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) February 28, 2025
Well, apparently the deal was never done and now it’s not happening. CBS Sports’s Jonathan Jones broke the news Tuesday.
“NFL Films had discussions with Coach Belichick and UNC about appearing on Hard Knocks this offseason but couldn't reach an agreement,” a spokesperson told Jones.
4. Actor Ben Stiller caused a stir on Sunday when he tweeted about the Knicks winning their game against the Heat while he was at the Oscars, where he presented an award. Stiller explained himself on Monday’s Jimmy Kimmel Live. The bottom line is that Stiller is just like every other legit sports fan.
Ben Stiller “Knicks playing during Oscars…I didn’t check score…But when my bit’s over I’m like OMG the Knicks…They won in OT, Jalen Brunson once again Captain Clutch, so I tweet KNICKS WIN”
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) March 4, 2025
Jimmy Kimmel “People were like why is he tweeting about the Knicks during the Oscars?” pic.twitter.com/qBKK2JOqBt
5. Sports fans are so used to getting price-gouged that we now think $5 for a bottle of water and $5 for a hot dog and $5 for a soda are good deals. This is still price gouging. It’s just less offensive price gouging.
The Mets announced that they will have “$5 Tuesdays” during the season.
Mets announce their plans for:
— Mike Mayer (@mikemayer22) March 3, 2025
—$5 Tuesdays
—Family Sundays
—Fireworks Nights
—13 Saturday Block Parties
Check out Mets dot com for more info. pic.twitter.com/gGSJEfMGpc
6. We dropped a bonus episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina, which features an interview with AEW’s MJF, on Tuesday.
We’ll have another episode for you in our usual Thursday slot later this week.
To no surprise, MJF was highly entertaining and unfiltered on the podcast.
Topics discussed during the interview: re-signing with AEW in 2024 and some details about his new contract; what his goals are for his AEW career; being a mentor for fellow AEW wrestlers at just 28 years-old; his “hard out” for leaving wrestling; his recent run of acting, which includes having a sizable role in the upcoming Happy Gilmore 2.
In addition, MJF answers the most Googled questions about himself, discusses what he likes and doesn’t like about being interviewed, shares his opinion on John Cena’s heel turn and explains why he doesn’t mind getting recognized and approached by wrestling fans when he’s out on Long Island, especially at his gym.
You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast below or on Apple and Spotify.
You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Sports Illustrated‘s YouTube channel.
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Happy 71st birthday to the hilarious Catherine O’Hara.
Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on X and Instagram.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Possible Replacements for Jimmy Johnson on ‘Fox NFL Sunday’.
