NFL: 5 potential replacements for Jason Witten on Monday Night Football
When Jason Witten left the Dallas Cowboys to retire and join the Monday Night Football broadcast booth, it was clear that ESPN executives wanted to find their Tony Romo of broadcasting. Romo has been arguably the best NFL analyst on television, and his ability to predict plays before they happen has been an amazing sight to see when watching any game he calls.
Witten struggled calling games on the biggest football broadcast of the week. Monday Night Football is ESPN’s cash cow, and to see Witten’s struggles in the booth put him under a lot of scrutiny as he tried to find his footing calling games. He joined the list of famous unretired NFL players and went back to the Cowboys. Who should be the color analyst in the Monday Night Football booth? Here are our top potential replacements for Jason Witten.
Louis Riddick
Riddick is one of the sharpest football minds at ESPN. The former NFL safety has been a home run for ESPN. His analysis of all things in the league is rivaled only by Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen at the network. His straightforward “tell it like it is” approach would be a refreshing voice to hear on Monday nights.
Booger McFarland
Of all the potential replacements for Jason Witten, McFarland makes the most from a continuity standpoint since McFarland is already on the Monday Night team. This would kill two birds with one stone. It would continue the relationship that Joe Tessitore and McFarland developed, while also getting McFarland’s awful crane out of the Monday night telecast.
The crane was hated by anyone that paid for Monday Night Football game tickets. The crane blocked the view in the first few rows. However, McFarland would bring a colorful voice to the booth. He has a sharp defensive mind and brings excellent analysis to that side of the ball. The main problem with selecting McFarland for the role is there would be no one in the booth able to break down the offensive side of the ball for the casual fan.
Peyton Manning
Manning may be viewed as a longshot, as he has shown interest in becoming a part of NFL ownership, but he would be an amazing replacement for Jason Witten. His work on ESPN+ show Detail proves that he can break down quarterback play better than anyone on the planet, and he is arguably the smartest football mind to ever set foot on the field.
Manning would instantly bring more credibility to the broadcast, and you could argue that a Manning and Tessitore pairing, would be in the top four for NFL broadcasts across all of the networks.
Kurt Warner
Undrafted Hall of Famer Kurt Warner is another Super Bowl-winning quarterback that can break down the offensive side of the ball with ease. Warner has been great for the NFL network, and just like Manning would be an excellent upgrade as one of the replacements for Jason Witten.
Warner always has a good rapport with his television partners, and his personality would mesh well with Tessitore. He has experience calling games on the radio for the NFL Network. If ESPN could somehow get Warner into the booth, then it would be another great hire.
Kirk Herbstreit
This is a major shot in the dark, as Herbstreit is one of the premier faces of ESPN’s college football coverage. He is a main part of Saturday College Gameday, and he also calls the ABC Saturday night college primetime game each week.
Pulling him from college football to the Monday night booth would have major repercussions to ESPN’s college football landscape, but there’s no denying that Herbstreit would be another great choice as one of the replacements for Jason Witten in the booth. Herbstreit would bring the amazing analysis and breakdown on both sides of the ball, and Tessitore would bring the excitement that the broadcast needs.
Who do you think will replace Jason Witten?
As we have looked at the list of announcers that can replace Jason Witten, who do you think will ultimately get the job? One of the people we profiled, or someone else who’s a real longshot?
