CBS NFL rules analyst Mike Carey's tenure with the net "is over," as he is not expected to be brought back for the '16 season, according to sources cited by Bob Raissman of the N.Y. DAILY NEWS. It is "highly unlikely CBS will look to hire another retired official to replace Carey." CBS "could look to get" NFL VP/Officiating Dean Blandino "involved on a live basis." There is also the "remote chance" a former official emerges who "makes CBS Sports suits go gaga to an extent where they must hire him." Carey was a "constant target on a variety of media platforms." His "flawed analysis was a problem," and "wooden performances only compounded it" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 6/12). SI.com's Richard Deitsch noted Carey was "long the favorite referee" of CBS Sports Chair Sean McManus. Carey "appeared to be a fantastic choice to join" Fox Sports' Mike Pereira as a rules analyst who "could transform a broadcast." Though he "received undue criticism when his judgment did not match with the judgment of the officials on the field, Carey never appeared comfortable as an on-air communicator." A source said that CBS "has no immediate plans to replace Carey's position this season" (SI.com, 6/12).
COACH 'EM UP: PRO FOOTBALL TALK's Mike Florio wrote the "blame for Carey's failure" falls primarily on CBS. It was "obvious from the moment Carey first opened his mouth" that he "lacks the ability to choose in real time from a broader universe of available words when discussing the decisions being made by the people currently doing the job he used to do." This means that CBS "didn't give Carey a proper audition for the job -- or that CBS did give him a proper audition but failed to properly assess his work." Florio: "Apart from the misguided decision to hire Carey, CBS thereafter failed to coach him" (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 6/11).
IT WAS TIME TO GO: YAHOO SPORTS' Shalise Manza Young wrote Pereira "has been a fantastic hire" for Fox, but Carey "was the opposite for CBS." He was "frequently wrong when asked to predict what the verdict would be on challenged plays, and he was also stiff on camera" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 6/11). The Big Lead's Jason McIntyre tweeted of Carey and CBS parting ways: "Hardly surprising, given the season he had." Bleacher Report's Mike Freeman: "I know Mike Carey was easy target but I always felt he was a damn good ref. That's what I'll remember about him."
