It’s official: Jason Garrett will take over for Drew Brees on NBC broadcasts of Notre Dame football games this season, joining Jac Collinsworth in the booth (replacing Mike Tirico on play-by-play) and working with sideline reporter Zora Stephenson and host Kathryn Tappen to cover Fighting Irish kickoffs in the fall. NBC announced the changes to their broadcast team on Monday in a press release laying out their plans.
Brees wasn’t brought back by NBC after the 2021 season, and he’s since been linked to Amazon’s burgeoning NFL coverage division (the popular streaming service plans to exclusively broadcast Thursday night games beginning this year), though a specific role remains unconfirmed. He experienced an up-and-down performance with NBC offering color commentary during Notre Dame games and in the booth for Sunday night pregame shows, which fell short of the network’s expectations.
So now Garrett, the longtime Dallas Cowboys coach and former New York Giants offensive coordinator, is taking Brees’ spot at NBC. And as for Brees: his exact path forward is to be determined, and he’s publicly speculated about which career path he’ll take up next, up to and including investments in a pro pickleball team. We’ll keep an eye out for news on No. 9.
