With hectic broadcast schedule looming, Kirk Herbstreit plans to 'chill' on prep work

Now that his first impression to the national NFL audience has ended, Kirk Herbstreit has a different plan for 2023.

"I'm going to chill," said Herbstreit, the color commentator alongside Al Michaels in Amazon Prime Video's booth for "Thursday Night Football," which is entering its second season under the streaming service.

Last year, Herbstreit began his challenge of calling the pro Thursday night game and appearing on ESPN's "College GameDay,” a job he’s had since 1996, some 36 hours later. On Saturday nights, Herbstreit teams up with Chris Fowler to call that week’s marquee college game for ESPN.

"I knew I was taking on something that was kind of unprecedented," Herbstreit, 54, said in a conference call with reporters.

The amount of broadcast preparation he did last season consumed nearly ever waking moment of his life, Herbstreit said.

"The execution of the actual job in those three games for me is fun, if I've done my prep," he said. "I've built my entire career on being prepared, and having all the answers."

No analyst has called more Rose Bowls than Herbstreit (15), who has also called every national championship game on television since 2010. He has won five Sports Emmy Awards for his work on "GameDay." From 1999-2006, he was the game analyst for Thursday night college football on ESPN. He was a quarterback at Ohio State from 1989-1992 and began working at ESPN in 1995.   

Herbstreit’s diligence in 2022 limited his chances to build chemistry with his broadcast team, Michaels and sideline reporter Kaylee Hartung, and the Amazon production crew. He and Michaels didn’t go to dinner as much as he would have liked, Herbstreit acknowledged. Herbstreit even skipped workouts to grind more tape.

"If I was awake, I was preparing," Herbstreit said. "And that's great. But man, it takes a toll on you, and it takes away from the fun aspect of what we're doing."

The work ethic is out of respect to his employers, Herbstreit said. But he will dial back the solo sessions in favor of team bonding in 2023.

"Going through that last year and over-preparing really helped me to understand what I need to do and kind of recalibrate as I get ready for this second year of making this run," Herbstreit said.

Herbstreit had called NFL games with Fowler for ESPN in the past, and compared to the college broadcast, there was not much of a learning curve – other than being able to actually step onto the field during pregame warmups to chat with players, he said.

His partner, Michaels, has drawn criticism – and recently let Sports Business Journal know how little he cares of it – for his approach and tone during what are, at times, dull Thursday night games, given the short week for players and coaching staffs. The Hall of Fame announcer said that his feeling at the end of a game lets him know if a broadcast lives up to the standard of live television.

"You don't want to fool yourself either because believe me, I've been a part of a lot of games where the game was great and you just felt you’re just a little bit off, the whole team," said Michaels, who has also called "Monday Night Football" (ABC, 1986-2005) and "Sunday Night Football" (NBC, 2006-21). "And then there are games that are not very good and you walk out and you say, ‘Hey, you know what, all things considered, that's about as good as it can get.’ I think it's a collaborative effort. When everyone hits the mark, it's a wonderful feeling."

Sometimes, Herbstreit said, there are weeks that the walk from the broadcast booth to the stadium elevator is an elated one. Other times, it's a strut of knowing they will have to go back to the drawing board.

"I think we've set ourselves up to have more good than not so good coming into this year," Herbstreit said.