All that speculation about Tony Romo leaving CBS for the greener pastures of Monday Night football was for naught. Romo is hanging around CBS for the foreseeable future — as anyone would if they were offered $17 million per year — and ESPN has to figure out what material changes — if any — will be made for their flagship football program.
Before we start all the speculating, here are the rules:
The potential color person must not be tied to another network for work on game day. Nate Burleson has shown some great personality and may be a good option but he’s tied to CBS on Sundays.
There will be a preference for ESPN personalities. See, it’s a lot cheaper to move people in-house than it would be to hire someone from the outside. Of course, there will be non-ESPN personalities on the list, but they will probably come at more of a cost.
We won’t be dealing with current players either. Tom Brady isn’t going to be in that booth. Greg Olsen is signed to a nice contract with the Seahawks. This is not a reverse Jay Cutler situation where Cutty signed on with Fox and then came back to the NFL.
Let’s get to it.
Peyton Manning
Let’s start with the obvious choice. Manning is the biggest name that’s out there. Manning has not indicated any interest in joining the Monday Night booth, but he just might be interested if the paycheck is near Romo’s $17 million a year number.
It’s pretty obvious Manning would be a good choice for ESPN. He would create a tremendous amount of buzz due to his name and brand recognition. He knows how to break down a game and he has done so for ESPN on an ESPN+ series. People simply like Manning. It’s easy.
The only reason this wouldn’t happen would be a Manning decision. Maybe he doesn’t want to travel for 17 weeks a year. Manning also would be the one taking a risk here. Does he really need to prove that he can be a good color commentator? What if he doesn’t live up to expectations? It’s very easy to rip on anyone in the booth. Even Romo has his detractors. Why would Manning want to do it?
Louis Riddick
Again, this would necessitate ESPN shifting Riddick from an in-studio personality to an in-game personality. That should come with a hefty raise for Riddick who has been great on almost all forms of content for ESPN. He really understands the game from a player and a front office perspective.
The only problem with Riddick may be that he seems to keep on coming up in rumors for front-office positions. ESPN may not want to throw him in the booth because it will give him more exposure to owners. Before you say that owners don’t sign people who work in TV, it’s happened before and it will happen again. These guys aren’t just television personalities, they are football people through and through and Riddick would most likely impress on game days. That could make him an even more hot commodity. ESPN may not like the idea of that turnover.
Run it back
ESPN is reportedly set to make some major changes to Monday Night Football, but they haven’t told us that there would be no Tessitore and no Booger just yet. Sure, it would open ESPN up to some ridicule on social media but no one watches NFL games for the booth. They watch the games.
Plus, at this point, people have made making fun of announcers into a sport. They would probably miss not being able to rip on Booger McFarland when he messes up. Booger isn’t perfect, but he’s not Jason Witten bad.
Kurt Warner
Yes, Kurt Warner is an NFL media personality, but he could still move from Westwood One Radio to ESPN on Monday Night Football games. That’s not too difficult.
Warner has experience on the radio so that’s something we can check off the list. He has expressed interest in doing Monday Night Football before and ESPN reportedly was considering him in 2018. Now Warner has some more chops in the booth so he wouldn’t be a bad option. He has the name recognition. People seem to generally like him.
Dan Orlovsky
I will continue to beat this drum as long as I have to until Orlovsky is recognized and his star rises to the level of ESPN color commentator.
Orlovsky kind of got his start breaking down plays on Twitter for NFL fans who really wanted to dive into the game at a higher level. He transitioned that into a job at ESPN. He’s already at the network. He knows what he’s doing and what he’s looking at. He breaks down plays on Twitter and television. Get Orlovsky in the booth.
The only problem here would be that there were reportedly some teams interested in getting Orlovsky on their coaching staff. If he wants to coach, he isn’t an option for ESPN for the same reasons Riddick isn’t an option. ESPN can’t have the turnover.
Eli Manning
Eli Manning may not be as polished as his brother but he has the name recognition. This would be a really risky move by ESPN, and they probably aren’t in a position to take this shot.
Most people love Eli. He’s affable, and people connect with him. He’s no Peyton, but he doesn’t need to be. Of course, there’s no reason for Eli to jump into the booth. He hasn’t indicated what his plans are after retirement. It would be a huge risk.
