


The coronavirus outbreak has slowed sports media, but officials are still doing business. Marchand also mentioned that ESPN has looked at other retired, or soon-to-be retired quarterbacks like Fox color commentator Tony Romo, New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees or Colts QB Philip Rivers.
#Booger mcfarland teleprompt full#
ESPN never got the chance to put it in front of Romo because CBS signed Romo for $180 million in full value over 10 years.īesides being Booger McFarland’s teammate on the Colts during Super Bowl XLI, Manning has other connections with ESPN, doing shows like Peyton’s Places for the network’s subscription platform. However, according to sources, ESPN had capped its proposed offer to Romo at 10 years and $140 million. The exact figure ESPN was willing to offer Manning is unknown. The announcement that the pair would not be returning isn’t of great surprise, especially after the context of ESPN reportedly trying to hire NFL legend Peyton Manning and failing.Īccording to the New York Post’s Andrew Marchand, the network had reached out to Manning several times since his retirement from the league, but to no avail.

ESPN Tried to Hire Peyton Manning, Other Legendary QBs In 2018, Tessitore replaced McDonough, who had returned to calling college football games for ESPN. Since, he’s been a play-by-play caller for ESPN’s coverage of college basketball, horse racing and college football, in which he eventually became one of ESPN’s lead play-by-play commentators for Saturday night games and the College Football Playoff. Tessitore has been an employee of ESPN since 2002, initially commentating on boxing and other combat sports as a focus. Initially, McFarland was hired by ESPN primarily for college football coverage but McFarland joined the MNF broadcast team in 2018 as a sideline analyst after four years with ESPN as a college football personality and analyst.Īfter Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten came out of retirement for the 2019 season, McFarland was moved up to the booth to join Tessitore, who was also replacing Sean McDonough as the play-by-play commentator for Monday Night Football.

McFarland went on to win Super Bowl XXXVII with the Bucs and totaled 20 sacks, before being traded to the Indianapolis Colts, eventually winning Super Bowl XLI before the end of his career. Booger McFarlandĪ defensive tackle in his playing days, McFarland was a standout player for LSU in the late 1990s, seeing him selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the 15th overall pick of the 1999 NFL Draft. As Deitsch’s tweet says, the pair will still be an important part of ESPN’s programming. The switch means that for the third straight season, there will be a new combination of commentators for the ESPN broadcast. Both Tessitore and McFarland will remain in prominent roles at ESPN. Joe Tessitore and Booger McFarland will not return, via sources. ESPN is going to have a new Monday Night Football booth.
