NEW YORK – Sundays in the fall will go down slightly different for Kyle Long this NFL season.
There's the new job, of course – a promotion, really – as part of the revamped "NFL Today" crew alongside Bill Cowher, Nate Burleson, fellow newbie Russell Wilson and host James Brown.
But rather than flying into New York every weekend and navigating the usual cadence of planes, trains and automobiles to reach Manhattan by Sunday morning for his spot on "NFL Today+," the streaming sister of the main show, Long's commute will be much shorter. He moved his family, which includes two young children, to Connecticut.
“That allows me to wake up with my wife on Sunday morning, which is a real blessing,” Long told USA TODAY Sports Aug. 11.
Other than that, Long
has spent the past few months building relationships with his closest coworkers in a direct way with each one.
“Really just staying in communication with these guys,” he said.
Examples included catching up with Cowher in Connecticut (they live in the same area). Golfing with Wilson. Calling Burleson to say “you look great on the news.”
“Those reps are priceless and time spent (together) can’t be replicated,” he said.
Of the new castmates, Long has the longest-standing relationship with Cowher. His parents know Cowher and his wife. Long's father, Howie Long, was a Hall of Fame player and has been on FOX's NFL studio show since 1994.
“He reminds me a lot of my dad,” Long said of Cowher. “When I’m on the set, I feel that comfort and security knowing that there’s an ‘OG’ out there with a gold jacket who’s got my back. And I’ve got his back, too.”
Howie Long, Chris Long have family monolopy on NFL Sunday pregame shows
Long and his family will face the conundrum of having two relatives on TV at the same time.
“Now my mother is going to have to inform my dad is that she is going to be a CBS-main person,” said Long, who played seven years for the Chicago Bears (2013-19) as a guard and made three Pro Bowls. “So sorry to all the FOX family."
That joke is an example of the "unapologetically authentic" vibe Long said he wants to bring to every show.
“I know that my authenticity is something that has carried me ... at times, it’s gotten me into some deep water, but I’ve learned to swim good,” Long said.
Cowher agrees on the authenticity front.
“Make it more conversational and share the wisdom that we’ve all gathered along the way,”
Everybody on that desk, Cowher said, has experienced varying degrees of football success – with lessons learned along the journey.
“Some of the stories that we can share, the experiences that we go through, the authenticity we can offer,” Cowher said. “That is very, very important.”
Balancing the maturity to pick and choose spots to be goofy or the class clown or have an analytical take is what Long enjoys. He sees his job as building off the points his desk-mates make and “maybe paint it with a brush that only an offensive lineman can wield.”
“But at the end of the day, I want to make (Cowher) laugh. And I want to make him maybe get (mad) about something or explain something in a way a coach would," Long said. "That’s the unique thing we have about our job."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kyle Long knows exactly what he'll bring to CBS's 'NFL Today' after call-up
