Jay Gruden Says Tony Romo Only Predicts 'Pretty Obvious' Plays on TV

Former Washington Football Team head coach Jay Gruden said he's not impressed by former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo being able to predict plays during CBS broadcasts.

Romo, who retired from the NFL in 2017, has become one of the league's most popular color commentators with his combination of enthusiasm and ability to make predictions about what play calls are coming.

Gruden told Ben Standig of The Athletic ahead of Sunday's Super Bowl LV, which will feature Romo in the broadcast booth, it's not a hard task for those with deep football knowledge.

"I could do it every time," Gruden said. "He's only right like 30 percent of the time. Those are usually pretty obvious, I mean (laughs). Nobody talks about the times when he's wrong, but when he's right, holy cow, he's a genius. Oh, come on, man. 'Sure, it's a run. Nope, it's a pass. Sorry, I was wrong.'"

Romo's predictions are usually more in-depth than whether a pass or run is coming, often forecasting exactly what play is being run and who the expected target will be.

The former Cowboys quarterback has scaled back his predictions this season, though, telling Richard Deitsch of The Athletic last month he tries to save it for special moments rather than consistently throughout a game:

"Yeah, I think I've probably done it less on purpose a little bit. I don't consciously try and do it or not do it. I like to be able to do multiple things, and it goes back to what I think people at home want to feel or hear about their team. I'm telling them the truth about everything I see, and you're not always going to say the right thing or do the right thing. But I do feel like I care and want them to enjoy their game. I take into account anything I do when something might be too much or too little. It's just a feel. It's just instinctual. You might be right in the sense that I probably have throttled that back a little bit. But there's always a time I'll bring it out, especially if it's a fun time to do it."

Sunday's kickoff between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers is set for 6:30 p.m. ET on CBS with the Lombardi Trophy on the line.

Meanwhile, Gruden is a coaching free agent after being fired by Washington during the 2019 season and spending one year as the Jacksonville Jaguars' offensive coordinator in 2020.