Tony Romo Reacts to 'Click-Bait' Critics, Reveals Cowboys Super Bowl 'Wish'

Tony Romo has used the lessons he learned during a 14-year career with the Dallas Cowboys to deal with those who aren't a fan of his broadcasting style.

The Dallas Cowboys may be dealing with a quarterback controversy on and off the field.

While the current passing situation speaks for itself, some in the football world still don't know what to make of former franchise thrower Tony Romo's broadcasting career. Romo, who played all 14 seasons of his NFL career in Dallas (2003-16), is set to enter his seventh tour as the lead analyst for CBS Sports' NFL coverage. Alongside play-by-play man Jim Nantz and sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson, Romo is set to call Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas at the end of this upcoming NFL season.

While Romo's first years in the booth were almost unanimously praised, some critics soured on his broadcasting style last season. The ability to predict plays before they happened and his Sunday exuberance wore thin for those viewers, some of whom unfavorably compared him to Fox's newcomer Greg Olsen.

Speaking about the criticism to Richard Deitsch of The Athletic, Romo mentioned that his days as the Cowboys' highly-publicized franchise quarterback have helped him work through his current Sunday woes ... while admitting his obvious, yet heartfelt, biggest regret of his starred career.

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"I had plenty of great moments that I would never change, and I wish I could have brought a Super Bowl to the Cowboys," Romo said. "That’s always going to be a regret that I wasn’t able to do that."

"But these things harden you. They give you a turtle shell. What you’re describing isn’t even criticism. There (are) levels to this thing. When you lose a game (as a player), you feel people walking up to you on the street.”

The sudden thumbs down from the court of public gridiron opinion perhaps eerily resembles Romo's Cowboys career: the Eastern Illinois alum was the toast of pro football upon his expected ascension to Dallas' starting quarterback job in 2006. That first season saw Romo take the Cowboys back to the playoffs after two years off but it yielded the first of several postseason heartbreaks, ones that kept him out of the NFC title game, much less the Super Bowl he so desired. 

He nonetheless rewrote Dallas' passing record book before injuries and the similarly-staged rise of Dak Prescott forced him into retirement.

CBS came calling almost immediately after he hung up his cleats, instantly placing Romo alongside in the top booth. He replaced Phil Simms, who held the role of CBS' top analyst since the network returned to NFL broadcasting in 1998. 

Having faced so much criticism as the face of the Dallas offense, Romo has brushed off his current reviewers as "agenda"-driven.

"There’s agendas. People like clicks," Romo said. "I think it’s all a positive. Talking about it, it helps all of the NFL. Our job is to go out there and perform like we’ve done and try to always do our best. I think we’ve done a great job with that. You’re looking at a very talented group here. Like all things, we’re going to go and try to put our best foot forward.”

Romo's top group will be in Foxborough for Week 1 action as he, Nantz, and Wolfson will call the hosting New England Patriots' showdown against the Philadelphia Eagles. A return to Dallas awaits in Week 2 as Romo will narrate the Cowboys' visit from the New York Jets.

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