With the NFL’s release of its 2020 schedule, we are optimistic that a season will follow along with it, meaning a kickoff to the season on September 10 and a Super Bowl on February 7, 2021. But circle one date in your calendar, Monday September 14.
Why? It’s the debut of Monday Night Football for the season and it’s anyone’s guess who might be manning (no it won’t be him) the booth that night.
The Monday Night Football broadcast is lost and is trying to find its way back into football fans’ hearts. Currently Joe Tessitore and Booger McFarland are the team and it’s just not working. Neither have been told that the plug is being pulled on them, but from everything out there in various media reports, they won’t be back. Nothing against those guys personally, but the booth needs a retooling. The chemistry isn’t there.
What used to be appointment watching has now become a disappointment to watch. The glory days of ABC’s early telecasts are gone. The uniqueness of those booths can’t be replicated and the times have just changed frankly and maybe nobody should try to duplicate what worked then.
The formula was simple. Frank Gifford, the former New York Giants star, was the play-by-play voice, taking over for the original guy, Keith Jackson. Gifford had a likeable quality and was a familiar face in a large media market in New York. “Dandy” Don Meredith, another former player, was the “class clown” with his endearing Southern drawl and “Turn out the lights…” song to end a game. Gifford and Meredith were great, but the star was Howard Cosell. The brash, unapologetic, tell it like it was and never at a loss for words, Cosell was must watch television. Cosell had always been a bit contemptuous when it came to ex-jocks in the booth and here he was, working with two of them. He and Meredith would clash often, but it worked.
Over the years, ABC tried to duplicate the formula a couple of times. When Al Michaels took over the play-by-play duties, the network shifted Gifford to analyst along with Dan Dierdorf. It was a few years later when the folks at ABC thought, let’s bring in a comedian Dennis Miller to work with Michaels and Dan Fouts. That experiment didn’t last very long. When the telecasts moved to ESPN, that network looked to recapture something from the glory days as well, by hiring Tony Kornheiser as an analyst along with Joe Theismann. That lasted a short time too. It’s hard to replicate something that was really a once in a lifetime thing. I understand why the choice was made though.
Monday Night Football in the 70’s was on one of 3 major networks at the time. Now, ESPN is one of hundreds of TV options along with streaming services fighting for viewership. It’s a much different landscape, so why not adapt to that, instead of going backwards? Move forward. The broadcast could use a shakeup. It may even be time to look outside the box a bit if I’m ESPN. I’m not the network, I don’t work for them, but if I did, here would be my list of candidates and a case made for each.
I’m going to break down who should at least be considered for the new booth. I’ll break it down into categories, those internal candidates already at ESPN, some that are outside the network and a couple that are outside the box. Here we go.
PLAY-BY-PLAY:
Internal candidates: Dave Pasch, Bob Wischusen and Steve Levy
Pasch is a fixture on the network and is well versed in basketball and football. He has been the radio voice of the Arizona Cardinals since 2002, so the NFL experience is definitely there. Pasch is a proven commodity with the network and has the ability to work with a number of different color analysts. He works well with all of them, deferring when needed to create credibility. He would be a great choice.
Wischusen is also an NFL broadcaster already. He has been the play-by-play voice of the Jets since 2002. Wischusen has been at ESPN in a variety of roles since 2006, where he’s called college football and basketball. A graduate of Boston College he had a couple of classmates with ESPN ties, including the incumbent voice of MNF, Tessitore and ESPN baseball play-by-play guy Jon Sciambi. Wischusen wouldn’t be a flashy choice, but a solid one nonetheless.
Levy has been a mainstay in Bristol having been with ESPN since 1993. He’s probably best known for his SportsCenter anchoring and NHL play-by-play than anything else. Recently though, he’s called College Football again for the network. Levy did call one MNF game last year. It was the second game of the Monday night doubleheader. Levy called it with Brian Griese.
My personal pick from this group would be Pasch.
ANALYST
Internal candidates: Brian Griese, Todd Blackledge, Pat McAfee, Louis Riddick and Jesse Palmer
Of this group, all have played in the NFL, so they all have credibility. Palmer has been around the longest of the group, but he seems to be concentrating more on hosting both in and out of sports.
Griese has the pedigree and that easy-going demeanor that goes over well with audiences.
Blackledge has the knowledge for sure, but is he a primetime performer under the scrutiny of MNF?
Riddick was a star on this year’s coverage of the NFL draft. His insight and knowledge as a player and personnel director make him a qualified candidate. I think I’d rather see him where he is, as a studio contributor.
McAfee is the new kid on the block, filled with energy and opinions. He’s become a big part of ESPN and actually, reportedly auditioned for the MNF booth when Jason Witten returned to play. While he’s a bit of a wildcard, McAfee is very entertaining (he did some work for the WWE) and does know his stuff.
From this group, McAfee is my choice, hands down.
PLAY-BY-PLAY
Outside play-by-play: Kevin Harlan and Kevin Burkhardt
Harlan is such a great announcer, with a personality that matches. Harlan is part of the Westwood One coverage of MNF, so he’s already traveling to the sites for the games, why not just say, “Kevin, we need you in the TV booth”? He is the kind of person that can seemingly work with anyone and make the analyst look and sound great. Harlan is valuable to CBS, covering the NFL on Sunday’s and also working on their NCAA Tournament broadcasts.
Burkhardt is a great story, one of perseverance. Waiting for his break, he left the business for a time to sell cars. He knew the day would come and break after break came his way and now, he spends his Summer anchoring FOX Sports coverage of Major League Baseball. His Fall is split between MLB Playoffs and the number two announce team for FOX’s NFL coverage. He’s qualified for sure to take over the MNF booth. I enjoy his easy-going style, never upstaging the game, just calling what he sees. I am a fan.
My vote from this group of Kevins, is Burkhardt. It would be nice for him to be considered and get it.
ANALYST
Outside analyst: Daniel Jeremiah, Steve Mariucci, Nate Burleson and Tony Gonzalez
I’m more impressed every time I see Jeremiah on the air. He has a quiet confidence about him and the information is always good. Jeremiah’s on-air presence is very good and he is concise but informative. In other words, he’s not just talking to hear the sound of his own voice.
Mariucci is the old guard, the coach, the storyteller and a guy you’d like to sit and have a beer with. I’m not sure that the grind of the prep and travel would be something he’d want to do.
Burleson has great credibility as a former player. For a relative newcomer to the field, he handles himself very well on the air. He’s affable and can have a laugh at his own expense on the air. Burleson is pretty plugged in and well versed in the goings on in the NFL today.
Of this group, my pick without much hesitation is Jeremiah. I’d love to see him on the broadcast of MNF.
Outside the Box play-by-play: Gus Johnson
Could you just imagine Gus Johnson in primetime once a week? Don’t laugh too hard, because I think it could work. Johnson’s reputation for making a routine play sound like the most exciting one ever is appealing to a younger crowd. Isn’t that what ESPN is looking for? The 25-54’s eat this stuff up. Johnson would give some fans a reason to tune in, without a dog in the fight or if the game is terrible.
Don’t laugh.
Outside the Box analyst: Rotating analysts
Would ESPN make a move and say, ok, we’ll have a play-by-play announcer, a permanent analyst and a rotating group of “other” analysts? Maybe this is where a Greg Olsen could fit in late in a season. Tony Gonzalez? Michael Strahan (not that he’d have any time with his 2000 jobs!) for a game in New York? Bill Walton? Ok maybe that last one is a stretch, but who knows. This broadcast needs something to pep it up and make it watchable no matter the way the game is going.
So, I’ve picked favorites from each of my categories, but there can only be three in the booth. For the sake of this column, I’ve been given sole power to select the new MNF booth and money is not an object.
From the start of this column, I knew who I’d be going with. Though, some of my own blurbs made me rethink a few times. But in the end, I stuck to my guns. Ladies and Gentlemen, the new MNF booth as chosen by me:
Play-by-play: Kevin Burkhardt
Analyst: Daniel Jeremiah
Analyst: Pat McAfee (rotating group came in 2nd in this one)
I think it’s a solid booth. Burkhardt knows how to use his analysts and delivers solid calls. He’s a pro’s pro. Jeremiah is climbing up that ladder as a respected evaluator of talent and has a ton of football knowledge. With Jeremiah concentrating on the serious, McAfee would be the entertainer and guy that makes outlandish observations and statements, but can back it up with some insight into the game, having played it for so long.
That’s my booth. It’s fresh, new and I think can work and work well.
Andy Masur is a columnist for BSM and works for WGN Radio as an anchor and play-by-play announcer. He also teaches broadcasting at the Illinois Media School. During his career he has called games for the Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres and Chicago White Sox. He can be found on Twitter @Andy_Masur1 or you can reach him by email at Andy@Andy-Masur.com.
