FOX is losing Troy Aikman and Joe Buck. That means it has to totally rebuild its top NFL play-by-play booth. According to Jason Whitlock, there are several candidates to take over as analyst. One of them is Michael Strahan.
The Hall of Famer is already on the FOX payroll. FOX NFL Sunday is one of his many TV jobs. Moving him into a game analyst role would certainly bring star power to the booth.
Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports says that Whitlock told him that in addition to Strahan, the network is also considering Sean Payton and Greg Olsen for the analyst role. No word on who the frontrunner may be to replace Joe Buck’s play-by-play.
The strategy behind putting Michael Strahan in the booth seems obvious. The NFL clearly values big names calling its biggest games. Tony Romo and Troy Aikman are stars in the eyes of football fans. Michael Strahan is on Good Morning America. His star is bright enough that it could attract even the most casual of sports fans to a game.
FOX is keeping its options open because there are some questions that need to be answered regarding Strahan. First, does he want to leave the studio to travel to a different location each week? Also, is he good at calling a game? The answers to those questions will likely determine FOX’s final decision.
