Tony Romo reveals his thoughts about retirement, CBS, Cowboys and his future 

It's been an extremely busy 24 hours for Tony Romo. The veteran quarterback was  released by the Dallas Cowboys only to later find employment again, thanks to CBS Sports.

On Tuesday afternoon, Romo and CBS Sports president Sean McManus held a conference call with reporters. Here is a partial transcript:

On his new role as lead game analyst for CBS

Romo: It was a very difficult decision. I went back and forth a bunch of times ... The decision had nothing do with the Texans and everything to do with CBS.

Knowing what I wanted to do the next 15, 20, 30 years, I felt it was the right decision at the right time. I'm really excited about the new challenge ahead. I didn't come to this conclusion [without thought]. ...

It's something that ‑‑ I didn't come to this conclusion lightly. And I think that my wife would tell you that we've had a lot of late nights and time going back and forth on a lot of different things. It was nice to have some clarity recently. I'm excited. It's going to be a great challenge for me. I'm going to have to learn this craft, and I'm going to have to improve and improve quickly. That's kind of exciting.

The competitive aspect of that gets me excited to get up and go attack it. I hope that I'm able to make the CBS family proud of their decision.

On the transition

I understand that I'll be in the background as far as the players in the field and what makes this game go. I understand that. It's not about the rest of us. But my hope is to come out and really make it enjoyable to watch, teach the game a little bit, and maybe tap into a few things that I can bring that hopefully people can enjoy.

I don't expect it to be easy. I expect it to be difficult - no different than when I came to the NFL. [But] if you have any ability at all, you'll at least achieve your potential. That's what we're trying to do over and over again is figure out how to basically reach your potential in whatever field you go into in life. -

One thing I've always felt like, if there is a strength of mine, it's my ability to learn. If I'm not very good right away, my hope is it doesn't take too long. And if I'm not, I can promise you I'll be spending 20 hours a day trying to figure it out, and I'll be analyzing it all the time. That's the approach I'm going to take, and I think that gives me the best chance to succeed.

On retirement

Romo: As far as the process of how this all went, I feel like for me, I just know when you make big decisions in life, you just want to soak in them. You just want to take your time and let it play out. Emotionally, you're going to go through a wide ‑‑ just a really, really many different types of feelings from one week to the next. You're just not in a situation to control that until you kind of get removed.

For me, the obvious one is being removed from the season, the situation, everything that happened, the good things that happened, the bad things. I mean, of all that, you've got to get away from it, and then you've got to start to think about your core values, what's important to you. You know, I have a family, I've got kids and it's got to be fulfilling. If this wasn't something that I was excited about or I didn't think I really wanted to do, I wouldn't be making this decision.

On what it's like to be a football player

Romo: When you're a football player, there is nothing else in life when you're grinding that life. That is what you do.

In some ways you have to watch that being your identity, because it really will be who you are. You win games, you're great. That's who you are as an identity. You lose games and you're not great and you feel you're not great and now no one in the world likes you, and you have to watch that path because people go down it all the time. Before you know it, you're so far down it you can't really come back from it.

I just feel like, like I said, when I sat and really had time to dissect what I was feeling and thinking, I came to the conclusion that hopefully my identity when I'm 80 was that I played football for the Cowboys and I did some other things and I was a good dad that did things right. There is a lot that goes into that. The hard part when you're playing football, nothing else can really ‑‑ you almost compartmentalize and that's the thing that's all‑encompassing.

I tried to work that balance, and the problem was I was so consumed at different times, that you kind of sometimes forget about some other things that are going to be very important. That wasn't the ultimate decision maker, but it definitely played a role in this process of getting to this point. Just, am I going to be fulfilled? Yes. Do I have the people around me that I love, that I want to make sure that their lives are great as well? Yes.

How did Jerry Jones and Tony Romo go about this decision?

Romo: When I go talk football with someone, I get very passionate and it gets going quickly. I understand the things that can come from that. Obviously I communicated with Jerry and everybody Steven, and they were ‑‑ I wanted to say a big thank you. Jerry was amazing during this. I know sometimes it didn't maybe look like it from the outside, but there were a couple times maybe we were ‑‑ things got a little bit, a day or two, different from what we thought. But he really was in my corner, and the stuff that he said publicly about doing me right, he really did.

I've never had a better boss, owner, mentor than Jerry Jones. I'd be remiss if I went through this entire conversation and never mentioned how much he's meant to me and how much he'll mean to me going forward because he'll always be in my life, and I'll always be in his.

Will you be biased toward Cowboys?

Romo: Those are your friends. Those are the people you sweat, you bled with, these are the people that you're close with for a long time. So for a while, there is no question. I want them to succeed.

Now there is a part of my job that you need to be impartial. That's part of being an analyst. I don't think I'm going to do anything that's probably out of the ordinary. I might accidentally have an emotional like, oh, good throw there. Maybe that will pop in there. But for the most part, what I see, you're going to talk about.

I'm not sure everyone knows Terrance Williams is one of the best blocking receivers in the NFL.

I will be fine critiquing players. That's part of the position. In some ways I enjoy talking about what's right and wrong. It's not all going to be good, not all going to be bad.

I think I'll be fine. At the same time ,I think you always want to root for the team you played for.

On his future, a possible return to NFL

Romo: I can tell you right now that I could play tomorrow. I think what you'll find is for me I'm making this decision with the choice to be able to play as well. It's not that different than the fall. I wish I could tell you unequivocally for the rest of my life I'll never play any sports at all, but I don't envision coming out. I've also seen enough things from I'm not going to Alabama to I'm done playing football, to, you know, things that happen in life.

Do I envision coming back and playing football? Absolutely not. I'm committed to CBS, I'm going to be there for good. Do I think I'm going to get some calls? I'm sure I will. .h��!]�

You never say never. I tell you it's about 99 percent. If for some crazy reason Sean decided to fire me in Week 12...

Right now I'm completely 100% committed to CBS. I understand that you're always giving yourself a little wiggle room and stuff. But I just don't envision that really being a scenario. I know what it takes to play football. I also know what it takes to come in and come back and play. I just don't know how you would ‑‑ I mean, it just takes so much. You don't just get up off the couch. I would literally have to make that decision now that I might be playing to really get ready to play, and I'm not making that decision now.

I'm making the decision to go to CBS because I am choosing CBS over playing football, and that's what I'm doing right now. That's the decision I want to make. Not because I'm being forced to. There is no reason. I'm excited about this.

Reflecting on football

Romo: It creates these bonds you really don't get to duplicate all the time.

I have no ill will in any capacity. Stuff happens in life. That's kind of what happened last year. Obviously I was disappointed in not being able to lead this. I expressed that during the season. For me, you move on to the next phase and I'll attack it in every bit like I attacked the last phase.

It's a great opportunity to get excited. A lot of times for athletes ... there's two deaths: the one in real life and the one when you give up the game. I'm pretty excited right now and not thinking about it. I'm lucky and happy to have the ability to be excited about this right now.

[Still], it was meaningful to me to be a Dallas Cowboy. It meant something. The fans have been amazing to me over the years. Every quarterback has ups and downs. It's just at the end of the day I feel this connection and this love for the fans and for the people that rooted for me. You know, that's something that I won't ever forget.

From CBS chairman Sean McManus

Why Romo? He is remarkably articulate. Had a lot of conversations with him, not just about football, but about life. He has an uncanny way of expressing himself in an amazingly understandable way. He is passionate about the NFL, and if you're not passionate about the NFL, you've got no shot at being an NFL analyst. That passion will come through in his commentary, and I think it's a really important part of what makes Tony Romo, Tony Romo.

On the learning curve: I'll be honest with you, will he be better week six than he will be week one? Yes, he will be. Will he be better in year two than he is in year one? Yes, I believe he will. But if we didn't have the faith in Tony, if we didn't have the faith that he could be an outstanding analyst, we wouldn't be taking this risk. And as I said, the risk is very manageable.

Look below here for a replay from the news conference.

Opinions and analysis on Romo

As Tony Romo moves from Cowboys to next stage of NFL life, he still won't use the word 'retirement'

Tony Romo says no part of him wants to play, and that's the absolute right decision

Why 'manageable risk' Tony Romo was really hired by CBS


Tony Romo's retirement feels like a leverage play; don't shut door on return

Barry Horn: It'd be 'cruel' treatment of Tony Romo' to put him in CBS' lead booth right now

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