ESPN NFL analyst Mina Kimes, known for critiquing NFL teams, found herself under scrutiny after her recent appearance on Celebrity Jeopardy! Although she advanced past the quarterfinals last month, Kimes faced David Friedberg and Sean Gunn in the semifinals on Wednesday. Despite leading for much of the game, she ultimately fell short after both she and Sean Gunn answered the Final Jeopardy question incorrectly, while Friedberg got it right. Kimes finished in second place, just behind Friedberg.
Kimes expressed disappointment in herself during an appearance on the Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast, comparing her hesitance on “daily doubles” to the behavior of an NFL head coach who hesitates to go for fourth-down conversions. “I could feel his disappointment in my cowardly bullsh*t daily double strategy,” Kimes said, referring to host Ken Jennings. “You can see it, just the disgust… I am the coach who kicks the field goal instead of going for it!! My whole career is devoted to calling these coaches out on cowardly game management, and then when I was in that situation, I panicked like a word I can’t say.”
.@minakimes on her Celebrity Jeopardy! showing:
“I am the coach who kicks the field goal instead of going for it!! My whole career is devoted to calling these coaches out on cowardly game management, and then when I was in that situation, I panicked like a word I can’t say.”… pic.twitter.com/AFPNQtwriP
— Pablo Torre Finds Out (@pablofindsout) April 18, 2025
If Kimes was hard on herself, Pablo Torre and Dan Le Batard didn’t hold back from roasting her, calling her performance a “choke” in sports terms. “Mina, for those who are not watching, is in full NFL coach behind a mic podium posture,” Torre remarked. Kimes responded candidly, “I was so pissed walking out of there because I felt like I just strategically didn’t prepare for the right things. And I didn’t think through it. I was really mad at myself.” “That is choking though right Mina?” asked Le Batard. “This would be textbook definition of choking, right coach?”
.@minakimes answering like a football coach when asked whether or not she choked on Celebrity Jeopardy! is comedy. 😂😂😭 pic.twitter.com/9tnZWyk9GS
— Pablo Torre Finds Out (@pablofindsout) April 18, 2025
While Kimes was disappointed, she hesitated to label her performance as “choking,” insisting she knew most answers but struggled to buzz in before others. “I don’t think I dominated to the point where it is textbook choking,” Kimes contested. “I choked on the daily doubles. That’s why it was hardest for me to watch because that was my fault. I knew pretty much every answer, but I just couldn’t buzz in. That’s not choking, that’s just not being as good at it.” Le Batard maintained his stance, interpreting her loss as a choke due to the combination of panic and strategy missteps, saying, “Because all of a sudden you are scared.” Regardless of interpretations, it’s clear that Kimes is disappointed not to join Katie Nolan as the second sports media personality to reach the Celebrity Jeopardy! finals.
