When he was in his 20s, Taylor Zarzour attended a camp in Los Angeles where aspiring sportscasters would learn tricks of the trade from industry professionals. ,
One of the more revealing activities was a session where ‘campers’ would call the action of old football or basketball games that were played on video screens in their makeshift press box. It was there that Zarzour's engaging and energetic delivery caught the attention of veteran broadcasters.
“My style leans into enthusiasm,” Zarzour says. “I try to be as descriptive as I can be, and I bring a ton of passion. That’s who I am as a person. And the [instructors] were sort of laughing at my enthusiasm. I asked, ‘is that bad?’ and they said, ‘no, don’t ever lose that. There was refining to do but they leaned into what makes me [who I am] and started coaching me up.”
Since then, Zarzour has embarked on a career path that has taken him from ESPN to SiriusXM with stints in local markets from the Gulf Coast to the Carolinas, including a brief stop in Nashville some 20 years ago.
Earlier this year, that path led him back to Middle Tennessee when he became the new play-by-play announcer for the Tennessee Titans. Zarzour has been on the job since April, but he steps up to the mic for his first regular season game when the Titans kick off the 2025 campaign on September 7 on the road against the Denver Broncos.
“There are only 32 of these [NFL] jobs in the whole world, and I am so blessed to have this opportunity,” Zarzour said at the time of his hiring. “I’m proud of all the twists-and-turns my broadcasting career has taken. I’ve been fortunate to do a lot of national work. But there’s nothing better or more fulfilling than being with a team. You become an extension of the organization. It’s the greatest thing to happen in my professional career.”
It's common for youngsters to emulate their favorite athletes. But when he was growing up in Mobile, Alabama, Zarzour’s heroes were the top-tier announcers of the day. “I would watch Keith Jackson (ABC/college football) and Vin Scully (MLB/Los Angeles Dodgers) and Bob Costas (NBC) and Pat Summerall (CBS/NFL) and I would be more interested in what they were doing than the players,” Zarzour says. “I was struck by their ability to be a conduit between the fan and the field. I was always obsessed with that and I still am.”
Even though he’s the voice of the Titans, calling play-by-play is not his only job with the team. As a de facto Titans PR rep, Zarzour is a daily presence at practices and frequently represents the organization at local events. He also serves as host for Titans head coach Brian Callahan’s weekly radio and television shows.
“I take time each day to prep for games; cramming is not something that is going to produce the best version of me on the air,” say Zarzour. “As soon as the game is over, I’m beginning my prep for the next week.”
Zarzour says that he spends about 10 hours prepping for every hour on air. Throughout the week this entails meeting with Callahan, watching film and scanning media accounts of both the Titans and their opponent. By Thursday he’s assembling his boards–charts that help identify players, along with notes for quick recall during the live broadcast. Production meetings are held on Friday while Saturday is a review day where Zarzour makes sure that all systems are go.
While he’s best known as the voice of the Titans, he finds being the public face of the franchise to be just as rewarding. “That part of the job, where I’m an extension of the team, fulfills me as much as calling the game,” he says. “I lived in Nashville and did sports radio here before I started concentrating on golf and SiriusXM and college football, and I’m grateful for those opportunities. But I missed being an extension of the community.
“Connecting with fans, emceeing events and representing the team in a town that I love is very meaningful to me. I knew what I was signing up for, and I did it happily.”
You can catch Tennessee Titans action all season long on WGFX 104.5 The Zone with Taylor Zarzour (play-by-play), Dave McGinnis (analyst), and Will Boling and Amie Wells (sideline reporters). Additional programming information and a mobile app are available at TennesseeTitans.com.