That’s live television for you.
During Monday’s installment of “Good Morning Football,” NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport was tongue-tied when he received the breaking news that the Bills fired their head coach, Sean McDermott, following Buffalo’s 33-30 overtime loss to the Broncos in Saturday’s divisional round.
Rapoport was visibly distracted and on his phone as “GMFB” personality Kyle Brandt asked about Broncos quarterback Bo Nix, who suffered a fractured ankle with just over six minutes to play in overtime.
“No, I cannot, Kyle. I’ll be with you in one second,” Rapoport said while looking down at his phone.
The show pivoted to host Jamie Erdahl, who began talking about Nix’s season-ending injury.
Rapoport returned a few minutes later and reported the McDermott news.
“It is not exciting news. It is unfortunate news,” he said. “There is a meeting right now to discuss this to inform the coaches inside the Buffalo Bills building that Sean McDermott is out.”
Rapoport tweeted a clip of the moment afterward.
“Live TV can take you in a lot of directions,” he said. “Sometimes, news breaks in real time.”
Brandt previously said he believed Rapoport was dealing with a personal issue, but confirmed it was a breaking news alert.
The Bills fired McDermott Monday after nine seasons.
He compiled a regular-season record of 98-50 and a postseason mark of 8-8.
The Bills will keep GM Brandon Beane, and he will lead the search for the next head coach, Rapoport said.
