Looks like Pam Oliver will be returning to NFL sidelines as a reporter for FOX for two more years. She was initially told she would be removed from reporting for the NFL completely after 2014.
In an interview with Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated she says:
“I was shocked, floored, a monumental surprise,” says Oliver.
“I think I was silent for a good 10 seconds and then screamed out, What?” Oliver recalled on Monday afternoon. “I thought: ‘This makes no sense. What are they talking about?'”
“The call was so completely out of the blue,” Oliver says. “I also felt it was one of those things like, ‘Why would we go back to this possibility?’ I felt we had all come through a pretty big ruckus and that door had been closed, dead-bolted, chained up. I had fully weaned myself from that role so to have that door open again, and I had difficulty wrapping my brain around it. So I put the decision on the shelf.”
Oliver took a couple of weeks to think about the decision. She solicited opinions of family, her mentors, her agent and some friends. Finally, she decided that she wanted to continue and told her bosses on Feb. 3 that she would come back to the sidelines. Here’s the kicker: The new assignment isn’t just for 2015. She will be part of the No. 2 team of Burkhardt and Lynch for the 2015 and 2016 NFL seasons, which is the duration of her contract with Fox Sports.
Congrats to Ms. Oliver! We here at BSO will be looking forward to seeing more of her on the sidelines this upcoming season.