FOX Sports’ Erin Andrews Gives Her Thoughts On The Dallas Cowboys And Reveals A Career Goal Of Hers

FOX Sports NFL sideline reporter Erin Andrews is looking forward to the upcoming season for a number of reasons.

Andrews — who has been with Fox Sports since 2012 and has served as the lead sideline reporter since 2014 — is in the midst of preparing for another season covering the NFL. And with FOX Sports featuring a heavy number of Dallas Cowboys games on their slate, there won’t be any shortage of storylines entering the 2024 season.

“Some of the ones that we have our eyes on with our broadcast team is — obviously we’re Dallas Cowboys heavy on our schedule — they have to work to get CeeDee Lamb‘s contract done,” says Andrews in a one-on-one interview. “I know that they will. They have a new defensive coordinator (Mike Zimmer) and last time I saw Dallas was the last time everybody else saw them and that was their loss at home to the Packers (in the playoffs).”

The Cowboys will open up the 2024 season in a big matchup with the Cleveland Browns — who were a playoff team last season — on FOX. That doesn’t include other big matchups on Dallas’ early-season schedule, including the Baltimore Ravens in Week 3 and the Detroit Lions in Week 6, which Andrews and FOX Sports will be covering.

“That connection between Dak and CeeDee was kind of struggling that day,” Andrews says of the Cowboys’ 48-32 playoff loss to the Packers last January. “Dak was coming off a huge year. How does he do this year? There’s a lot of talk. Is he going to re-sign in Dallas? You could close your eyes and come up with 8000 storylines for the Cowboys and that’s why we love having them.”

Andrews has worked at the national level since she landed a job covering ESPN’s NHL broadcasts back in 2004. Since then, she’s covered just about every major sporting event you can think of, whether that’s the World Series, Daytona 500 and Super Bowl. That’s not mentioning how Andrews has also ventured into the entertainment world, hosting the well-known series, Dancing with the Stars, along with the CMT Music Awards.

While she now exclusively covers the NFL for FOX, the veteran sportscaster details what goes into preparation before a season starts.

“I read a ton,” says Andrews. “We get clips sent to us every single day of all the teams and in the league and all the articles written about them. And then I go on a deeper dive after that. I pull up articles on different websites, I go on the team’s websites, I watch all their locker room interviews. We’re on calls with the players and the coaches every single week, then I get other players to call me where my group didn’t hear from. I can offer different things that could be helpful and useful.”

Andrews also says that whenever she’s preparing for an upcoming game, she’ll watch the past two games of each team to be “updated” and says that three-fourths of the preparation isn’t used during the broadcast.

“You never want to get into a situation where you’re like, I didn’t have this,” says Andrews of being a sideline reporter. “It’s a lot of over preparing, but I’m so neurotic that it works out better for me.”

Andrews — who is also well-known for her years spent hosting Dancing with the Stars from 2014 until 2019 — says that the key difference between covering sports and hosting a live television broadcast is that you don’t “know the outcome” of a sporting event. She explains her years of experience in working as a sideline reporter in the NFL prepared her for hosting Dancing with the Stars and the CMT Music Awards.

While Andrews will obviously be preparing for another season covering the NFL — FOX’s first NFL broadcast is during the preseason with the San Francisco 49ers hosting the New Orleans Saints on Aug. 18 — she is currently enjoying the offseason with her dog, Howie, in the meantime. Andrews — who is partnering up with Purina Pro Plan for their “Fueled By” docuseries — is extremely close to her seven-year-old golden retriever, whom she’s had since he was eight weeks old.

Purina Pro Plan’s “Fueled By” docuseries — which also features Michael Phelps, Lolo Jones and Livvy Dunne — shares stories of each individual and how their dogs — fueled by their nutrition — push them towards leading an active lifestyle.

The 46-year-old sideline reporter explains why she partnered with Purina and why this campaign is important to her, detailing how Purina Pro Plan’s diet helps her dog, Howie, remain active and “fueled up.” Andrews leads off each athlete’s “Fueled By” docuseries by narrating the beginning of each video.

“Everybody that watches the ‘Fueled By’ docuseries, for every view, Purina Pro Plan is going to donate $1 to $150,000 to athletes for animals,” explains Andrews. “That’s a non-profit organization that focuses on protecting homeless pets. Howie actually eats Purina Pro Plan. He loves it a lot. It always makes him feel great, he’s part of a very active lifestyle with a mother who’s always on the go.”

Although Andrews obviously has a laundry list of accomplishments on her resume, she still has a few things on her to-do list as she continues her career.

“I would love to do a morning show such as a Good Morning America or Today Show,” says Andrews. “I think Charissa Thompson and I we have a good thing going on our podcast. I think it’d be fun to host a nine o’clock or 10 o’clock show together. I think we could carry an hour-long show and have a good time. We have men that are fans because of football, and we have women that are fans because of Dancing with the Stars and football and all of that in our podcast. I think we’d love a crack at that.”