Nate Burleson wants to host The NFL Today, but will wait for James Brown

James Brown, the long-time host of The NFL Today on CBS, has no plans to retire. Nate Burleson is willing to wait his turn to replace Brown.

>Via Brendon Kleen of Awful Announcing, Burleson recently confirmed his interest in hosting the Sunday pregame show during an interview with Front Office Sports.

>“Yeah, 100 percent,” Burleson said. “I say that with the fullest sense of humility as I can.”

>It can be very delicate to talk publicly about aspirations to inherit a job that remains filled by someone else. Burleson did his best to strike the right balance.

>“I want James Brown around for as long as I can have him," Burleson said. "I have learned so much, I wouldn’t be the person I am on-camera if it wasn’t for J.B. So, selfishly, I want to keep learning from one of the greatest to ever do it. And I don’t want a call from anybody else if I ever get that seat. I want J.B. to call me.”

>Brown, 75, recently made it clear he won't voluntarily be stepping aside any time soon. Networks, however, have been known from time to time to force awkward transitions, especially if there's a concern that the designated successor may have a better opportunity at another shop.

>Then there's the reality that the looming expansion of international games could result in even more games that begin at 9:30 a.m. ET, which would make the traditional Sunday pregame shows even less relevant than they have become. Especially in an age of non-stop NFL news that makes shows like The NFL Today something other than the absolutely necessary viewing they once were.

>If/when (when) the NFL gets its wish to stage 16 international games every year, more people who would be watching NFL pregame shows may instead be watching a live NFL game. And, at some point, the folks who count the beans may decide there's no longer any magic to setting a perpetually-prepared table in the hour or two before a cluster of games commence at 1:00 p.m. ET.