The Monday Night Football broadcast will have a very different look and feel in 2018. As previously announced, former Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten has retired from the NFL in order to assume the role previously occupied by Jon Gruden. Joe Tessitore is taking over play by play duties from Sean McDonough, and Lisa Salters returns as the in-game sideline reporter.
But there’s also a new wrinkle being planned for Monday night coverage.
According to Richard Deitsch of The Athletic, Booger McFarland will join the cast as Monday Night Football’s first-ever field analyst. ESPN executives had contemplated adding the position for a while and ultimately decided that it was time to take the plunge.
The network has not yet confirmed Deitsch’s report but an official announcement on the Monday Night Football team is expected either this week or next.
ESPN went thru an exhausting process to identify the right mix for the Monday Night Football broadcast team. Polished analysts like Kurt Warner, Matt Hasselbeck and Louis Riddick were given a strong look, but in the end, ESPN’s management team elected to try something new.
Deitsch says Witten’s audition impressed many inside ESPN, and McFarland stood out too. Network officials are confident that the new team can go thru a summer boot camp with executive producer Jay Rothman to fine tune their chemistry and execution and hit the ground running this September.
Jason Barrett is the President and Founder of Barrett Media since the company was created in September 2015. Prior to its arrival, JB served as a sports radio programmer, launching brands such as 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He also spent time programming SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY. Jason also worked on-air and behind the scenes in local radio at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years on the national stage, producing radio shows for ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT. Among them included the Dan Patrick Show, and GameNight.
You can find JB on Twitter @SportsRadioPD. He’s also reachable by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
