With Tony Romo spurning Monday Night Football to sign a $180 million deal with CBS, ESPN is again looking for ways to improve its booth.
Could it be Peyton Manning? Kurt Warner? Someone else?
Whoever winds up with the job will become part of one of the most venerable institutions in sports. Monday Night Football has aired for 50 seasons, broadcasting more than 700 games.
Twenty-three different men have worked in the booth since 1970. Here’s a look at a group that ranges from a comedian to Hall of Fame quarterbacks and a guy that was in Blazing Saddles.
Howard Cosell
The controversial and outspoken Cosell was instrumental in making Monday Night Football a hit. He left the show after the 1983 season.
Keith Jackson
Jackson (center) is more well-known for being of the best voices in college football history. But he served as Monday Night Football’s original play-by-play announcer in 1970.
Don Meredith
Former Cowboys quarterback “Dandy” Don Meredith was part of the original crew and had two runs with Monday Night Football: From 1970-73 and again from 1977 to 1984.
Frank Gifford
Gifford was the play-by-play announcer from 1971 to 1985 and moved into an analyst role from 1986 to 1997.
Fred Williamson
“The Hammer” would go onto have a successful Hollywood film career, but his Monday Night Football stint didn’t go well. He was quickly replaced after a poor evaluation during the 1974 preseason.
Alex Karras
Karras replaced Williamson just before the start of the 1974 season and was a color analyst for the three seasons that Meredith was away.
Frank Tarkenton
The Hall of Fame quarterback joined the MNF booth after retiring from football and worked four seasons from 1979 to 1982.
OJ Simpson and Joe Namath
OJ was a part of Monday Night Football from 1983 to ’85. Namath was part of the team in 1985.
Michaels was the play-by-play announcer for Monday Night Football from 1986 until the show left for ESPN in 2005. He’s been the Sunday Night Football announcer on NBC ever since.
Dan Dierdorf
Dierdorf had a long tenure as a Monday Night Football analyst, serving from 1987 to 1998 before leaving to return to CBS.
Boomer Esiason
Esiason replaced Gifford in the booth in 1998, but he lasted only two seasons and many questioned if his relationship with Michaels (or lack thereof) was at fault.
Dan Fouts
Fouts came in with Dennis Miller for the 2000 season, but the booth only lasted two seasons.
Dennis Miller
Putting a comedian into the booth is regarded as one of the biggest gambles in sports television history. Miller’s comedy didn’t really work with football fans and he was out after the 2001 season.
John Madden
Madden’s hiring in 2002 steadied the Monday Night Football franchise. He retired from broadcasting after the 2005 season.
Mike Tirico
Tirico took over the play-by-play duties when Monday Night Football moved to ESPN in 2006. He did the job until leaving for NBC Sports in 2016.
Joe Theismann
Theismann lasted one season (2006) in the MNF booth.
Tony Kornheiser
The Pardon The Interruption star did three seasons in the Monday Night Football booth from 2006 to 2008.
Ron Jaworski
Jaws was a Monday Night mainstay on ESPN from 2007 to 2011.
Sean McDonough
McDonough took the play-by-play job from Tirico and did it for two seasons (2016-17) before returning to call college football.
Jason Witten
Witten was heavily criticized during his one season (2018) on the air. He returned to the Dallas Cowboys the following season.
Booger McFarland
McFarland joined Monday Night Football in 2018 and was well-known for his “Booger Mobile” that roamed the sidelines and blocked fans’ views.
Joe Tessitore
Tessitore took over the play-by-play duties in 2018.
