Ex-Coach Wyche Settles In Nicely As Nfl Analyst

When Sam Wyche left the coaching business and got into TV, he knew he was out of his element. He needed help. He needed guidance. So, he picked up the phone.

“I called everybody. I called up people who weren’t even in the business. I met some guys in a mall, and I called them up,” Wyche said.

Then, he wound up with TV’s ultimate guidance counselor, Marv Albert.

In his first season as Albert’s sidekick at NBC, Wyche is gaining momentum after a slow start. Now, there are inklings of why he was TV’s most sought analyst prospect when Tampa Bay fired him. He’s one mean talker.

“I was known for a lot of things as a coach, and that was one of them,” Wyche said. “But actually, I think at first, I was more conservative than they expected. I sort of wanted to sneak up on it.”

Wyche, Albert’s fourth partner in five seasons said, “He’s like my orchestra leader.

“This means hurry up,” Wyche said, twirling his hand in the air.

“This means shut up, you idiot,” Wyche said, holding his palm toward the floor.

“And this means be quiet,” he said, lips turned up in a smile behind his index finger.

Wyche said Albert usually gives him Mondays off, “and then he calls me on Tuesday or Wednesday. We critique ourselves, or he critiques me. I haven’t critiqued him yet. I haven’t had the nerve. Then our producer, David Neal, will call. I go through my entire professional support staff.

“David Neal is probably as tough a critic as Marv, but Marv doesn’t mind letting you have it, which is just fine by me. I need it sometimes. David is just a little more gentle.”

That, Wyche said, was one of the big surprises that awaited him in television.

“It was very refreshing. Everybody wanted to help me get started,” Wyche said. “There didn’t seem to be a lot of competition, like there is among coaches.”

Since he left coaching, he’s also noticed a few things about his old profession that have surprised him.

For example: “I began to notice how similar all the teams have become, especially when you watch how they prepare during their Friday practices. There are very few things about teams that aren’t similar.”

Out takes

Golfers apparently like different announcers than TV viewers, but both groups hate the same one: ABC’s Brent Musburger.

In its December issue, Golf Digest published results of a survey of more than 100 golf pros from the three main tours - PGA, Senior PGA and LPGA. Their favorite host announcer was Jim Nantz of CBS, while viewers preferred Pat Summerall in a survey released last August.

Both groups, however, chose Musburger as the worst host, with 64 percent of men golfers and 57 percent of women golfers listing him as their least favorite.

Best Network was CBS, while the worst for men was ABC and for women was NBC.

Best analyst for men golfers was Gary McCord, best for women was Judy Rankin. Both men and women pros chose Johnny Miller of NBC as the worst analyst, and that was a bit of a surprise.

While Golf Digest has rated Miller among the best, it offered this remark about Miller from an unidentified golfer: “mouth flaps before brain thinks.”

Could that mean golfers don’t like analysts who actually analyze? Probably.