The rumors started in May. Today, rumors became reality. FOX has officially announced that Johnathan Vilma is joining the network as an NFL game analyst.
“His proven talent on TV and passion for the game of football make him the perfect choice to join our FOX NFL team this fall,” FOX Sports’s Executive Producer and Executive Vice President and Head of Production and Operations Brad Zager said in a press release.
Vilma has spent the last four years covering college football for ESPN and ABC. He was a studio analyst during that time. Last season he was partnered with Kevin Neghandi and Jim Mora Jr. and appeared at halftime and in postgame segments on ABC.
The three time Pro Bowler will be in the booth this season. FOX did not announce what play-by-player Vilma will be paired with, but the retired linebacker says that he is up for the challenge.
“I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the studio, but calling games is a much different animal and a challenge I wanted to undertake at FOX Sports,” he said. “My goal is to show fans the nuances of what makes players and coaches great; to entertain and inform viewers about the game I love. I’m excited to provide insight and have fun while doing so.”
FOX did not mention whether or not it would utilize Vilma on any of its studio programming. In addition to his college football coverage, ESPN also utilized Vilma as a commenter on Get Up! and First Take.
Fox has hired 2 of the top studio guys away from ESPN’s College football coverage this summer as well as one of the top Play by Play guys. ESPN has clearly signaled that they are expecting to scale back CFB coverage (if we have CFB) Also with adding 7 of the 8 opening round MLB playoff match ups they clearly are signaling that they do not expect a full slate of games this fall. Given the fact that they have lost early season Pac 12 and Big Ten non conference games plus the entire IVY League and the SWAC/MEAC challenge game, It is clear they expect to lose more match ups.