On the same day that NBCUniversal announced it has picked Jim Bell to executive produce coverage of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London comes a report that former NBC Sports guru Dick Ebersol is returning to the fold in an advisory role, first on NBC’s Sunday Night Football and then for the London games. The New York Times reported that he will be special adviser to the network, reuniting him with current NBC Sports Group boss Mark Lazarus, whom Ebersol brought to NBC, and Bell, whom Ebersol hired as a production assistant for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Of course, Ebersol was the man behind bringing the NFL and the Olympics to NBCU, where he was a fixture until he left in May following a contract dispute with new owners Comcast. It’s unclear whether Ebersol had any behind-the-scenes sway back in June, when NBCU won the bidding for U.S. broadcast rights to the next four Olympics, which gives the network the games through 2020.