Greg McElroy reveals he's been pushed to run for political office

On Wednesday on the Paul Finebaum Show, ESPN’s Paul Finebaum revealed an interesting tidbit about his colleague, fellow analyst Greg McElroy.

Apparently McElroy has had multiple opportunities to get involved in politics, stemming as far back as his days as a backup quarterback for the New York Jets.

McElroy was a regular on the Finebaum Show at that time, in the early 2010s, and some of the conversations on the show made it clear he had a way with words and was capable of understanding the complexities of any given topic. The exact kind of traits that would be useful for a politician.

“I think when we took a turn down like political questions that’s when it became a little more turbulent,” Greg McElroy said on Wednesday. “Because you were encouraging me to go in that direction professionally because you realized my NFL career probably wasn’t going to last very long.”

The advances were sometimes serious enough to merit real consideration, too.

“I can’t remember how long ago it’s been, I had a guy who was the head of a political party in Alabama,” Finebaum said. “He came to me and said, ‘I need to talk to you about something.’ I said, ‘OK.’ He said, ‘We want to groom Greg McElroy to run for governor or senate or something.’ I said, ‘First of all, I think he might be the wrong party. Not that I know anything about his political persuasions, but I know the state that we’re currently residing in.’ But you were barely out of college.”

McElroy also has some other elements working in his favor. First, he won a national championship with Alabama. So he knows how to lead a large organization.

Second, he’s met folks from all over as a popular athlete. He’s used to the pomp and circumstance and the lights and cameras.

As a result, the opportunities keep coming.

“I’ve had multiple examples over the course of the last 14 years where people have said, ‘Hey this should be something that you consider,'” Greg McElroy said. “God’s honest truth it’s very polarizing.”

Finebaum laughed at that revelation and joked that McElroy is rumored to be running for Tommy Tuberville‘s Senate seat.

“I will deny that rumor,” Greg McElroy said, seemingly closing the door on any political aspirations, at least in the short term. “I’m very fulfilled doing what I do calling games with Sean McDonough and getting to visit with you for the six minutes a year that we get to do things in person.”