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Time for Korny-Heiser to go
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It seems difficult for networks to put together great sports broadcast teams. Local sports talk radio and fans are constantly berating national announcers either for their biases or for their on-air blunders. Most of the criticisms are warranted. One major source of ridicule these days is ESPN’s Monday Night Football broadcasts.
Mike Tirico is the play-by-play man for ESPN and is one of the better play-by-play guys in the NFL and NBA. He doesn’t fall in love with a player in a game and spend the entire game cheerleading for that player like so many other play-by-play guys. Tirico just does his job. Ron Jaworski may be the best in the business when it comes to breaking down plays and explaining them to viewers. He did this on ESPN’s "Edge NFL Matchup" and now does it during broadcasts on Monday Night Football. “Jaws” is a former NFL quarterback and gives great insights with everything to do with his former position as well as defensive reads. One would think the perfect compliment to a quarterback in the booth would be a former defensive player or a former coach.
When hiring the third member of the Monday Night Football crew, ESPN obviously did not consult with their sister station, ABC. ABC struck out big time when they added Dennis Miller into the booth with former NFL quarterback Dan Fouts and veteran play-by-play man, Al Michaels. Miller bombed in his two seasons mostly due to his lack of NFL expertise and his out of place jokes. Although Kornheiser has a background in sports, he essentially is Dennis Miller minus the sophisticated humor and head of hair. Kornheiser is a much better fit for a silly “back and forth” type of programming like “Pardon the Interruption” than he is for actual broadcasting. He is completely lost during broadcasts and offers no valuable insight to the game. Hopefully ESPN doesn’t put its hands over its ears like they do with Joe Morgan and their baseball broadcasts. Monday Night Football is much more important than a weekday baseball game on ESPN. The solution to the issue is to have Korny-heiser make like Dennis Miller and beat it, then grab a former defensive player or former coach to compliment Tirico and Jaws.
The simple formula, Host + Former Offensive Player + Defensive Player/ Coach= Success, works in all of the NFL pre game shows. It offers a variety of valued perspectives and leads to comical banter. Here’s a look at how the networks’ pre game shows’ on-air personalities break down:
Host: James Brown
Experts: Dan Marino, QB
Boomer Esiason, QB
Bill Cowher, Coach
Shannon Sharpe, TE
Charley Casserly: GM
Host: Curt Menefee
Experts: Howie Long, DL
Terry Bradshaw, QB
Jimmie Johnson, Coach
Michael Strahan, DL
Host: Chris Berman
Experts: Mike Ditka, Coach
Keyshawn Johnson, WR
Chris Carter, WR
Tom Jackson, LB
There are some viable substitutes for Kornheiser out there. Plug any of the following into the Monday Night Football crew and they should make the aforementioned formula labor:
Mike Golic: He is a former NFL defensive lineman and is the co-host of ESPN radio’s “Mike and Mike.” He has been an ESPN in-studio analyst since 1995. In addition he has commentating experience with the Arena Football League and with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Plus he is already an employee of ESPN.
Mike Ditka: He is a Hall of Fame NFL tight end and coach. Currently he is one of the in-studio analysts on ESPN’s “Sunday NFL Countdown, “Monday Night Countdown,” ESPNEWS’ “Monday Quarterback,” and ESPNRadio’s “The NFL Huddle.” He has been with ESPN since 2004. Before ESPN, Ditka had both in-studio and game broadcast experience with CBS and NBC. Plus he is already an employee of ESPN.
Jim Mora: He is a former NFL coach. Currently he is an analyst on the “NFL Network.” Mora is best known for his hysterical post game press conference outbursts while coaching the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts. He would keep the humor in the booth and attract all of the millions who Google his outbursts.
Steve Mariucci: He is a former NFL coach. Currently he is an analyst on the “NFL Network.” Mariucci is not far removed from the NFL and is a branch of the “Bill Walsh Coaching Tree.” Only downfall is that he is still being considered for NFL head coaching vacancies.
Mike Holmgren: He is the current coach of the Seattle Seahawks who is retiring following this season. Holmgren is obviously still involved with the NFL and would give great in depth analysis about current teams and players. In addition he is extremely well respected and is a future Hall of Famer.
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