Someone is going to join Kevin Burkhardt in FOX’s top NFL booth next season. No one has been named yet, and Front Office Sport’s Michael McCarthy is reporting that may be because it will be more than one someone.
The network had a three-man booth from 2002 until 2005 when both Cris Collinsworth and Troy Aikman joined Joe Buck on the call of its top game each week. Since then, the top team was just Buck and Aikman.
McCarthy says the leading contenders to join Burkhardt are his partner from last season, Greg Olsen, former Saints coach Sean Payton and current 49ers GM and former FOX analyst John Lynch. He also said that it is worth remembering that Jay Cutler was hired to be an analyst by the network before the 2017 season, but he ultimately chose to play for the Miami Dolphins instead.
Whoever gets tapped for the gig is stepping into the spotlight. America’s Game of the Week regularly one of the league’s most-watched broadcasts each week. The crew is also scheduled to call two of the next three Super Bowls.
Michael Strahan can likely be ruled out. McCarthy indicates that he is FOX’s top choice, but is likely to turn it down because of his role anchoring Good Morning America each weekday.
FOX did not comment on the story.
