NFL Network morning program Good Morning Football is moving its production to Los Angeles after spending parts of the last eight years in New York City. While show members Jamie Erdahl and Kyle Brandt will be remaining with the program, Jason McCourty is not going to be making the move across the country. McCourty, who joined Good Morning Football in 2021, is going to be leaving the program and is currently in conversations with CBS to continue calling NFL games as a color commentator next season. The former NFL cornerback and Super Bowl champion explained his rationale regarding the decision on the latest edition of SI Media with Jimmy Traina.
In addition to its regular program airing on NFL Network, the program will add a new two-hour extension series syndicated by Fox Television Stations. The decision to move came after Good Morning Football earned its highest regular-season viewership since 2017. When McCourty first learned that the show was relocating, he immediately thought that he would have no interest in going to California. In reflecting back on his disposition, he remembers being in a state of shock about the move that he did not see coming. At the time, he had been preparing when to go on vacation and take time off for the next season.
“When that news hit the beginning of March [that] at the end of March it’s going to be our last show in New York, originally, you know, like anybody, you’re like, ‘Screw them, I’m not going to LA,’” McCourty said, “and I think as time went on, the realization is like, “I really love the show. I love being around the people that are involved in the show.’”
McCourty and his wife tried to envision what it would look like if they moved to Los Angeles in order for him to continue doing the show. CBS was not a factor at the time; instead, he was focused on what would be the best outcome for his family. Throughout the second half of McCourty’s NFL career, he and his family frequently moved to different cities across the country, including a stint when he won the Super Bowl with the New England Patriots. In this moment though, McCourty could not think of any reason aside from “selfish ambition within the industry” to continue his career on the show.
McCourty’s wife also told him that if they went to Los Angeles, he would be taking the air at 5 a.m. PST, resulting in him having to wake up several hours earlier. During his first few months working in New York City, he described himself as a “zombie” who was irritable during the morning hours. The quality of life pertaining to how it would feel as a husband and father were factors into the decision as well. McCourty explained that NFL Network expressed interest in wanting to keep him on the show, but that it did not make sense to pick up an option in his four-year contract when he told them that he would not be moving.
“The hope was, ‘Alright, maybe there’s something you could work out and figure out,’” McCourty explained, “and those things, I think for them, are a little bit further down the line as they determine exactly what GMFB is going to look like for the future with Kyle and Peter and Jamie and everybody.”
In being caught off guard by the decision, McCourty stated that he is continuing to learn how the sports media industry can be unpredictable at times, similar to when he was playing football. During his 13-year career in the NFL, he experienced what it was like to be cut and traded, requiring him to adjust to the changing circ*mstances. McCourty is aware that there is no guarantee he will get a better job on another studio show, aspects that factored into his decision, but he ended up deciding not to relocate.
McCourty conveyed his gratitude for Schrager and Brandt for welcoming him and Erdahl to the show upon the departures of Nate Burleson and Kay Adams. Throughout his time in the industry, he has come to realize that everyone is replaceable and did his best to fill the void that Burleson’s departure left. At the same time, he learned more about television through osmosis as he watched Schrager and Brandt execute their roles with aplomb and avidity.
“When the chemistry and relationships work within a show, that’s huge too,” McCourty said. “When you can walk into that studio Monday through Friday and everybody feels good about being there and Peter can look at me and say, ‘You know what? JMac’s a good teammate,’ and I can feel the same way about him, and we continue to further our relationship, I think that’s the big thing.”
