1. ESPN showed Raiders minority owner Tom Brady in the coaching booth with a headset on during the team’s Monday night game against the Chargers.

Brady will call this Sunday’s Cowboys-Bears game in Chicago. Who do the Bears play the following week? The Raiders.

This little tidbit was not lost of many people watching the game.

It also wasn’t lost on WFAN’s Boomer Esiason, who ripped into the NFL for allowing the conflict on his Tuesday show.

“The fact that he’s sitting in the Raiders’ coaches box with a headset on and talking to Pete Carroll, talking to [John] Spytek, their general manager, talking to their offensive coordinator, Chip Kelly, is complete and utter B.S.,” Esiason said on The Boomer & Gio Show.

“The NFL is the ultimate competitive place and you’re allowing a guy to sit there who’s a part owner of a team, which is fine, and now he’s involved in these game plans and this week he’s got … Bears-Cowboys. And now he’s going to be meeting with these coaches and talking about players. That is utter B.S., as far as I’m concerned, because it tilts the balance of competitiveness, because now he has intimate knowledge of the team that he owns, the Raiders. He’s sitting in there listening and talking to GMs. He’s also talking to other coaching staffs and other players around the league. I know he’s going to try to be objective, but how can you be objective when you’re in this situation? And why are they allowing this?”

Esiason wasn’t done.

“There is a real conflict of interest, especially him sitting in the coaches box. And then when you listen to Pete Carroll, who I love by the way, and who I have nothing but mad respect for, and then you listen to Spytek, their general manager, and then you listen to Chip Kelly, their offensive coordinator, ‘Oh, yeah, we’re on the phone all the time. We were talking about this. We’re talking about players. We’re talking about schemes.’ I mean, WHAT?

“This is the guy that you allow into all these other rooms when he’s covering the league for Fox? I'm sorry. As much respect as I can have for a player, and I have had for a player in this regard, this completely goes against what the NFL is all about because the NFL, it’s the ultimate competition. These guys are going to get fired. You know, guys get fired, they lose jobs. This guy seems to be insulated for some reason. And I understand why he’s insulated. He’s good for the league. I get it. But the conflict of interest is startling.”

The solution here is simple. If I were a team that is scheduled to have a production meeting with Brady, I wouldn’t show up. Make the NFL fine you. Make the NFL make it an issue. And then see how bad the PR surrounding this situation gets for the league.

2. Molly Qerim announced she was leaving First Take on Monday night. Stephen A. Smith opened Tuesday’s show, addressing Qerim’s departure.

Molly Qerim
Molly Qerim has announced she's leaving "First Take." | Molly Qerim

3. The strong early numbers for the NFL extended into Amazon’s first game last Thursday, with the Commanders-Packers contest drawing 17.76 million viewers. It was the most-watched regular season game since Prime began airing Thursday Night Football four years ago.

4. Here is this week’s edition of the best segment on sports television: “Bad Beats.”

5. Great news for Masters Tournament fans. Amazon Prime has picked up Thursday and Friday coverage of the tournament. The streaming service will air the major from 1 to 3 p.m. ET each afternoon.

6. The latest episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina features a conversation with CBS’s lead NFL play-by-play caller, Jim Nantz.

Nantz talks about his game assignments for the next few weeks and CBS’s overall schedule for the 2025 season. In addition, he shares his expectations that CBS’s Thanksgiving matchup between the Chiefs and Cowboys will shatter the record for the most-viewed regular-season game of all time.

Nantz also discusses his 40th anniversary at CBS, how he got his start at the network and the roles that Brent Musburger and Mike Francesa played in the beginning of his career.

With CBS/Paramount acquiring the rights to UFC, could we see Nantz play a role in its coverage? Plus, Nantz opines on the trend of younger people being less interested in play-by-play jobs.

Following Nantz, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins Jimmy for their weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week, Jimmy and Sal talk about a HORRIFIC bad betting beat for Sal, Jimmy’s problem during the Ravens-Bills game, issues with ESPN’s new app, Sunday Ticket on YouTube, Ryan Clark calling out Peter Schrager, Howard Stern coverage, Sal’s solo weekend and much more.

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: Judge Judy’s show premiered on this date all the way back in 1996. This video will always be one of my favorite things that I’ve ever watched on YouTube.

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 Boomer Esiason Has Heated Take on Tom Brady Sitting in Raiders’ Coaching Booth .

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