News began circulating Thursday morning about a shakeup in the NFL television landscape. Troy Aikman, the long-time Fox analyst, is believed to be joining ESPN to spearhead their Monday Night Football broadcast.
The current team in the booth, led by Steve Levy, has been underwhelming. Many fans have chosen to watch the Manning Mega Cast instead. It’s a different way to watch the game and with celebrities!
Peyton Manning to Charles Barkley on MNF megacast: “What is your current playing weight?”
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) September 22, 2020
Charles: “Hey listen! I’m going to call Human Resources on you, Peyton. You cannot be insulting people on television.”
??? pic.twitter.com/5ZD0E761gV
Buck Shot?
The story continued to evolve and reports of ESPN pursuing Aikman’s announcing partner, Joe Buck, began to surface. Landing both Aikman and Buck would be a major coup and would make MNF more credible than it’s been in decades.
On the other hand, losing both Aikman and Buck would be a huge blow to Fox. However, Buck also calls playoff baseball games for the network and would need permission to leave early. It would be weird for one of Aikman or Buck to work alongside anyone else. They’ve been tied at the hip for 20 years.
If ESPN lands both Aikman and Buck, it would relegate the current broadcast team back to Bristol. It would also leave a blank canvas for Fox. Executives would be scrambling to add some color and style to that canvas, and quickly.
What’s Next?
The most desirable play-by-play guy, Al Michaels, is believed to be headed to Amazon Prime, now the exclusive home of Thursday Night Football. So, who would Fox turn to replace Buck? It could be Charles Davis, Ian Eagle, or, my personal favorite, Kevin Harlan.
And who would be Aikman’s replacement as the new color commentator? There’s been plenty of speculation about that. Although rumors of Sean McVay leaving the Super Bowl champions have been squashed by his own fiancée, they persist.
A message from Veronika Khomyn, who is the fiancée of #Rams coach Sean McVay… and it’s a pretty clear one: pic.twitter.com/EY0Qvp6BsY
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 17, 2022
It may seem crazy for him to leave the team that just climbed the NFL’s Mount Everest, but he must be thinking about it. CBS pays Tony Romo $17.5 million a year to do a much less stressful and demanding job.
The other big name to keep an eye on is former head coach Sean Payton, who left the Saints after 15 years. Both men obviously know the game well but that does not a great analyst make.
McVay is known for being a high-energy guy with a great memory but can he show any nuance? Payton is an offensive innovator but is he exciting or interesting? Fox wants to make sure they’re getting a Tony Romo-type, not a Jason Witten.
Mic Drop
Another well-known TV personality, Michelle Tafoya, won’t be patrolling the sidelines for NBC for the first time in a decade. Sunday Night Football will also look quite different without her and Michaels. We could see Pam Oliver, Erin Andrews, Evan Washburn, or someone else fill some pretty big shoes this fall.
