The Matt Thomas Show with Ross - Iconic FOX Sports Broadcaster Chris Myers Joins the Show

Episode Date: November 12, 2025

Iconic FOX Sports Broadcaster Chris Myers Joins the Show

102 on Sports Talk 790. C.J. Stroud is not on the field as the Texans allow media access for a few minutes. Thus, the thought he playing on Sunday is very much still up in the air. Look, with the Texans playing the bills a week from tomorrow, the best case in arrow is for him to take this week off, let Davis Mills do his thing as the Texans try to beat the Tennessee Titans. The man that will call the game for Fox, one of the most recognizable television personalities. seen in the history of sports television and we'll be calling the Texans Titan game in Nashville. It's Chris Myers with us here on the Matt Thomas show at Ross. Chris, it's been a few

years. Thank you for the time and good afternoon to you. How are things? I'm good, Matt. Thank you for that kind introduction. Yeah, that's good to talk to you. Yeah, I want to get to your book. I want to get to how you and I had our first conversation many years ago, but I want to get to first and foremost, the NFL right now. I'm sure I've watched the Jacksonville Houston game. You call the game against the Jaguars and Vegas Raiders the week before that, Jacksonville's lost their mind. You have to understand why. That way that performance last week was quite amazing to a lot of folks.

Yeah, there's still, I mean, watching the reaction of Liam Cohen. I mean, everything that had to go wrong for them did. I know there were a couple of key penalties in there, but everything that had to go right, you know, for the Texas happened. And that's how it goes. I mean, it went in their favor, different team, different circumstances the week before, obviously against the Raiders, but some crazy stuff happened late. You know, they had the record field goal.

They were able to survive going for two, and the Raiders could have beat them. So that's how the games are playing. A lot of one-score games. I know Texan fans are familiar with that. And Jacksonville is a good team. They're a little thin, you know, some of the things that have happened to their game plan with Travis Hunter are now out for the year. But the division is really about the cults, I think, at this point.

And who could either slow them down or get in as a wild car. between, if the Texans have still hopes there, along with Jacksonville. The NFL television schedule, folks, for those that don't know, primarily Fox had been an NFC teams, but you guys are doing more AFC games than ever before, and you saw New England a couple weeks ago, and we don't talk much Patriot football here and won't do a whole lot, but the fact of the matter is that's one of the teams that could be in the Texans' way. Are you surprised at some of these teams like Indianapolis and New England have just come on the scene like they have so far this season?

you know not not really i mean if you have your quarterback and you develop them properly or at least he connects with the kind of offensive scheme that you have uh then then i think you're going to do well and and mike brable came in and you could see a difference the way that drake may was being coached again he was a rookie and he didn't start right away but later in his rookie year and then this year josh mcdaniel's coming in and his strength is as an offensive coordinator had a head coach uh even with a limited receiving core what they've done with him And having called a couple of their games, very impressive. He's got all the physical skills, got the right kind of attitude.

You're seeing him emerge. He's good. He's going to be even better. And he can take off and run if he needs to, but he's not going to live on that. The cult are a unique situation. They have a little bit of a, I'm not saying they're the Eagles, but the Saquan, Barclay, Jalen Hertz, combo, they have that potential with Daniel Jones and what Jonathan Taylor has done,

and their offensive line is solid. A key pickup with Lou Anirumo, the defensive coordinator who was kind of kicked out of Cincinnati has kind of molded that defense and they have some strong points there as well. So Daniel Jones, he's fallen back a little into the, you know, turnover prone. Daniel Jones, we might remember. But he's learned a lot. And actually, he spoke when I talked to him.

His stop in Minnesota was of great value when he was there with San Donald and learning from some of the things in their system that he thinks has made him a better quarterback. So I think those teams are for real. Are they good enough to be? beat, you know, the Chiefs and Bill's at their peak, but we've seen the Chiefs and bills look very vulnerable. So I think the AFC is really wide open, and you're ultimately what your record says it is, and that it'll matter if you get into the playoffs and how will you perform there. Chris Myers is with us from Fox Sports. We'll call the Texans and Titans

game, and we've always had a chance when we talk to game broadcasters, you get a chance to visit with coaches and players on Fridays or Saturdays, depending on who's the home team. With social media, Chris, and the worrisome of intelligence getting out, have those conversations, are they still pretty off the record helping you guys out? Or do you find yourself with these coaches being a little more tight-lipped than maybe when you were calling games 10 years ago? Yeah, no, I think you were always tight-lipped. And I've got to say, some of the coaches were very, I don't want to say, in-cooperative. Some were more cooperative than others.

That's probably the way to wear. They would give you more information if they were familiar that they could trust you and say, hey, if you see this scenario in this part of the game, we might fake it. So just so you're aware, because our director sits in there with our producer and myself and the analyst and our reporter. So in other words, we're trying to serve the audience. And they trust it. I had a coach tell us, hey, if this guy comes in the game, this wide receiver, you know, he's not going to catch. We're not throwing to him because he's a coward.

He's afraid to go over the middle. But just be aware that, you know, he's out there to block. So, I mean, you have to respect, and you wouldn't leak some of that information, but you do use it in the broadcast. Well, what I have found is that a lot of information is out there before you even sit out to talk to these guys. I mean, you know, they'll tell you things, and I don't even know if they're aware how it leaked out through their staff or people covering the team and because of all of the, I guess, the sources surrounding a particular team. But I still find them valuable. even. I know some teams want to do Zooms a little bit more to keep it, since that era has happened, it keeps it easier on them. But, but I, for example, this weekend, we're, we're setting

up. We're going to obviously talk with D'Amico Ryan's and who we want to, the few players who want to talk to. I think Cody Barton is on our list for Saturday when the Texans get into, get into Nashville, but we don't know who the quarterback's going to be. And I heard what you said. We're kind of assuming that Stroud is, they're going to wait. And the league has been tougher a little bit about concussion protocol where they're kind of, you know, not allowing teams to push things along. So we're assuming it's going to be Davis Mills. But so we're ready for either one.

But they won't, you know, they won't tell us that until we actually sit out. And sometimes coaches will say, hey, we'd rather this not be out until tomorrow morning or whatever. And so you have to, that trust has to be there. And I think over years, you know, we've lived up to that. And most of the coaches know that. The conundrum that Texans fans here, Chris, have is this is a defense. and with Will Anderson, you've called games before with him.

This is a squad that could be a legitimate AFC title contender. The offense with the offensive line has been a work in progress. I'm not giving you information that you don't already know, but I'm curious, how often do you run in that around your weekly circles about, man, there is one side of the ball that's so prolifically good and the other side that still has so many question marks.

Yeah, you do have teams. And oddly, look at Denver. You know, you got Sean Payton, this offensive-minded quarterback guru, whatever. And yet he's got, you know, an outstanding Bronco defense. And that offense, even though Bo Nix is developing. But it's not exactly, we saw in their most recent game, it's not exactly a high, a high-powered offense.

I mean, Brian Billock, who was this great offensive coordinator, head coach of the Ravens won a Super Bowl because of the Ravens defense going back historically. So those things happen. What I love about, you know, like Tomiko rides, I had the pleasure call to, you know, when he first took over and C.J. Straub was drafted. So I kind of seen, and then there were some games in there. I didn't get to watch the Texans a lot. But I think there's a good core there.

And other than, look, they've tried drafting in the offensive line. It's the one area that Texans just can't seem to hit. Let's hope that nursery is a guy that can develop. But I really do like healthy this defense. We hope Petrie can play two in concussion protocol for this week. I mean, number one scoring in defense and number one in total defense. There was an interesting stat about that that never before in the Super Bowl era has a team that has led the league in that, not been a playoff.

team. So if they continue that, that's an encouraging sign. And I still think you can win with defense. The Eagles are really doing more of that. You just need your offense to kind of do their part. And I think the speed and the secondary is outstanding. I think that the Neil Hunter emerges Will Anders. I mean, you know, I think there's a lot to like about this defense. And that's going to have to, all their losses have been one score games. And if the offense had done a little bit more, you know, then maybe the record would be different. difference. So I guess your question is, yeah, you can be a little lopsided, but the other side of the ball is going to have to do something where you're not going to go very far if you

do get in the playoffs. Chris Myers, Fox Sports with us before we let him run. I want to talk about his book a little bit. It's called That deserves a wow, untold stories of legends and champions. You've got an audio CD. How long it takes you to do that, by the way? Was that a quick Well, the audio port took a long time to go into a booth by yourself and kind of read what you wrote, but, you know, you could add to it a little bit. Sometimes there were some moments after taking about a year to write at going back into the pandemic, putting together notes from ESPN, the decade to 20 plus years at Fox and covering some Super Bowls and World Series and interviewing, you know, some interesting people through the years went up close. But it was a lot

of fun to kind of look back on and really connect to where we are now. And people who've had the audiobook really, really appreciated that. But yeah, it's about, you know, I mean, time goes so fast. You're in there and you're working and you know how it is you're under the next assignment and so when they approached me they said you had some unique things happen and that you know you the oj Simpson interview the first ever live you know you were there at the at the earthquake world series you were there when dale Earnhard died at Daytona I mean these are moments that you know when Brady came back and won that Super Bowl the greatest comeback ever with the falcons so and you were in the middle of those for the network broadcasting or a network live on the air and and those moments

We want to make sure people know about what it's like behind that and what you were thinking at the moment. So I tried to do the best of that, relating it to how I was raised in my background and the business to kind of bring the viewers. That's always what you've got to think of first, the listener of the viewer, what they want to know, what they can know and what you can give them based on the great events that I've been able to be around. My last question, because I did interview you many, many years ago, and I was in 1998, you were at ESPN doing the up-close show. I was 26. I was newly married and didn't have any kids. I could watch whatever I wanted to because that's what we did. We didn't have kids. So I put up close on on a rando day and there you are interviewing O.J. Simpson and you came out all guns of blazing. And it's worthy for those of you that never saw it. I'm sure it's on YouTube. It won't take you hard to find it. It was one of the most amazing interviews of the now deceased O.J. Simpson just for a one minute of background, if you don't mind. Tell me what it was like when you got in the studio with. him? Did he know that you were going to be as forthcoming as you were? Set that up. And then what was it like when the conversation was done and the cameras were turned off? Yeah, and it was the

first live interview that O.J. Simpson had done after both, you know, not only the double murder trial, but the wrongful death, the lawsuit. And that one, obviously, he was found accountable. And he had wanted to come on the show, I think. And those were the two conditions. It had to be live. And I couldn't ask about his children. And I said, okay, that's fair, but I got to ask everything else. And obviously, he wasn't happy. He knew I was going to ask about what went on. I'm not going to talk about his Heismatrophy or football days. And at the end of that interview, he was a little smug. They had great talking sports with you. That was his sarcastic shot. But beforehand, in the green room, he was chilling. I just, I didn't say much. Usually I'll go in

and chat a little bit with people before we do the show. In this case, I just said, thank you for doing this. I appreciate it. He brought a PR person. And, you know, we had some protesters. People thought I shouldn't do the interview that I was going to glorify a killer, but it was the chance to ask, and this is why I'm going to brought up, and in the book, some people in broadcasting and talked about it, it's a chance to ask the questions that people would have asked, or an attorney would have asked, had he taken the stand, you know, in that, in that double murder trial, which he was acquitted, and I had really great help in preparing, talk to lawyers, detectives, you know, doctors, I saw evidence that even the jury didn't get to see, and there was no

question that he was guilty. I wanted to be fair, but I had to ask those things. And there were a few times he tried to spin it. They told me, you know, in fact, I mentioned this in the book. One of the attorneys who defended him said, off the record, you know, I wouldn't do this interview. I said, why is it because he makes everybody attached to him? It's bad. It turns out bad for you. I'm like, well, you defended him.

You know, it's like your issue. So, yeah, it was one of those things you just, and yeah, you can watch it on YouTube. People still in this day of the trial of the century for a great athlete to have gone through that. And not so great a person. I think you'll learn a lot about him by watching that and reflect. a lot of the information that has come out since. The name of the book, That deserves a wow. Untold Stories of Legends and Champions,

their wins and heartbreaks, written by Chris Myers, who will be on the call for Texans Titans this Sunday on Fox. Hope we get you a couple times next year. We want to do this again. Thank you for the visit, Mr. Myers. We really appreciate it. Yeah, my pleasure. Thank you.

I'll come on with you any time. You take care and enjoy the game. Thank you very much. Chris Myers, Fox Sports, with us here.