Joe Buck and Troy Aikman’s time calling NFL games together seems to be coming to an end.
After last month’s news that Buck had agreed to a whopping six-year, $100-plus-million contract extension with ESPN—while Aikman has yet to receive a similar offer—Front Office Sports’ Ryan Glasspiegel reported this week that there has been “unspoken friction” between the two this season as they get set to call Super Bowl LXI in February. That friction apparently came to a head on Monday night.
“Before the Rams took on the Bills at SoFi Stadium [in Week 5]…” Glasspiegel wrote on Tuesday, citing sources, “Buck ‘broke the ice’ on this unspoken tension, and he and Aikman argued. It ultimately de-escalated, and the two had a broadcast in which viewers never would have been able to decipher that something was amiss.”
Aikman was then asked about the reported rift during a radio appearance on 96.7 The Ticket in Dallas, and failed to quiet any speculation.
“I think there’s probably a time and a place for all that to be discussed,” said the three-time Super Bowl champion and Hall of Fame quarterback. “I don’t know if now’s the time. I don’t know if it’s hard to figure out what’s happened. I’ll broadcast through this season, and I’ll be a free agent at the end of the year and see what happens. But I’m looking forward to whatever the rest of this year does hold with the Super Bowl and all that, and where my next landing spot might be.”
Long story short: ESPN and Buck could soon be looking for a new partner.
As they tend to do—see: the oversaturation of Stephen A. Smith and Pat McAfee—the network could very well tab one of their own to fill the void next season. With that in mind, here are ESPN’s five best options to replace Aikman in their Monday Night Football broadcast booth.
5. Pat McAfee
Current role: Just about everything at ESPN
Shirt-ripping and overexposure aside, McAfee can still be a fun television presence in the right setting. The 39-year-old has gone from a middling NFL punter to an uber-successful media mogul in less than a decade, and if ESPN can shrink his workload and put the focus on its premier NFL game, he might win fans back.
4. Jason McCourty
Current role: ESPN studio analyst
McCourty parlayed a 13-year, Super Bowl LIII-winning NFL career into a cushy media gig. The former Titans, Browns, Patriots and Dolphins cornerback has served as the co-host of NFL Network’s Good Morning Football and a color commentator for both CBS Sports and Westwood One, and is currently among ESPN’s rotating cast of analysts that appear on Get Up!, First Take, Sports Center and Monday Night Countdown.
3. Tony Romo
Current role: N/A
Romo took over for Phil Simms as CBS’s top color commentator in 2017, and spent the past nine seasons in the booth alongside Jim Nantz. The former Cowboys quarterback was then arrested this past summer in Milwaukee on suspicion of operating a vehicle while under the influence (OWI) and pled no contest to the offense. After initially being placed on leave by the network, Romo announced in early October that the two sides were parting ways. He’s now a media free agent, and says that he’s taking a break before “moving on to [his] next opportunity.” Romo was an instant hit at CBS for predicting the outcome of plays before they’d happen, but has faced some criticism in recent years. A move to ESPN would give him a fresh start, and perhaps motivation to recapture what made him one of the industry’s more exciting voices a decade ago.
2. Mike Tomlin
Current role: NBC Football Night in America analyst
After mutually parting ways with the Steelers this past January after 19 seasons as their head coach, Tomlin joined NBC’s studio coverage of Sunday Night Football alongside Maria Taylor, Devin McCourty and Jason Garrett. Tomlin’s Minecraft city has made him personable. At the same time, his willingness to critique those he coached against less than a year ago shows an authenticity that fans are quickly connecting with. The 54-year-old could opt to return to the sidelines in 2027, but if he doesn’t, a promotion to the broadcast booth would make sense.
1. Greg Olsen
Current role: Fox color commentator
Isn’t it obvious? Greg Olsen quickly rose to Fox’s top color commentator several years ago and even called Super Bowl LVII alongside Kevin Burkhardt. The former tight end then had his job taken from him by the network in favor of Tom Brady and has since worked in their No. 2 booth with Joe Davis. Olsen has long been rumored to be the next man up once a No. 1 job opens, and with his contract reportedly set to expire at season’s end, ESPN would have the opportunity to make a slam-dunk hire to pair him with Buck for 2027 and beyond.
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