In an NFL offseason in which ESPN has already considered a total reboot of “Monday Night Football” and Fox added the Thursday night package for billions, Peyton Manning’s decision to possibly enter the TV booth remains the most intriguing storyline.
Both ESPN and Fox have Manning atop their list to be their primetime game analyst, sources told The Post. Manning has been approached multiple times about becoming a TV analyst since he retired, but has been reluctant.
Manning’s ultimate goal is to be like John Elway and have an ownership stake in a team, while running football operations, he has said. Multiple TV officials who have spoken to him believe that remains his long-term target, but Manning has not fully ruled out TV in the interim.
Before last season, Fox reached out to Manning to see if he would be interested in going into the studio or being a game analyst. As he has told all the networks annually, he did not want to become a broadcaster at that time. Fox will try again, but, at this point, it is ESPN that is being far more aggressive.
In the words of one source, ESPN is willing to “back up the truck” for Manning, wanting to make a splash in replacing Jon Gruden as the analyst on “Monday Night Football.” Gruden was reportedly the highest-paid ESPN employee, making more than $6.5 million before leaving for a 10-year, $100 million coaching deal with the Raiders.
While lead play-by-player Sean McDonough is currently in place, ESPN executives have considered a total reboot of their Monday night booth, sources said. There was a feeling that McDonough lacked chemistry with Gruden, plus NFL officials have not been fans of some of McDonough’s critiques on officiating, among other topics.
“If you were going to do it, this is the time,” one source said of the “MNF” total-reboot idea.
The four internal possibilities are Joe Tessitore, Steve Levy, Dave Pasch and Bob Wischusen. Neither Levy nor Tessitore has ever called an NFL game. Pasch has been the radio voice of the Arizona Cardinals. Wischusen, the longtime Jets radio voice, also has NFL experience.
Levy finished second to McDonough for the “MNF” job when Mike Tirico left for NBC two years ago, according to sources. (Levy also received the silver medal, sources said, when Sam Ponder replaced Chris Berman on “NFL Countdown” last season.)
ESPN is still contemplating if any of the four would be an upgrade over McDonough. Levy, Tessitore, Wischusen and Pasch currently call college games behind Chris Fowler.
Top external candidates could include CBS’ Ian Eagle and Fox’s Kevin Burkhardt, but the No. 2 NFL play-by-players for their respective networks both just signed new deals, according to sources.
If ESPN is unable to convince Manning to join the “MNF” booth, the network is planning to hold auditions for its internal candidates, a source said. Analysts like “NFL Countdown”’s Matt Hasselbeck, who called the Pro Bowl with McDonough, Randy Moss and Charles Woodson would have a chance. None of them has an inside track at this point, the source said. Kurt Warner is another outside candidate to consider.
Meanwhile, Manning is the first person Fox wants to talk to about its Thursday night package that it just acquired for a reported $3.3 billion for five years. This weekend, Manning is scheduled to drive the pace car at the Daytona 500, which will be televised by Fox. Top Fox executives will be at the event.
Before settling on a lead play-by-player, Fox would like to have its analyst set. Gus Johnson is a candidate to be Fox’s play-by-player on Thursday night football. He currently is its lead college football and basketball announcer.
Both Joe Buck and Burkhardt work the MLB postseason for Fox and Sunday NFL games, which would make it logistically difficult to call Thursday night football. Fox wants one team to handle all the games and not have different sets of announcers handling the games based on the matchups, which has been speculated.
Network executives saw the success that CBS had with Tony Romo and believe that if anyone could match it, it would be Manning, because he is a bigger name, is known for his work ethic and has shown a sense of humor. Manning’s diligence is legendary and, according to one executive who has tried to woo him in the past, Manning won’t take the job unless he is fully committed.
A person with knowledge of Manning’s thinking said the fact that Fox’s Thursday games would not take him away on weekends could work to the network’s advantage. Though the ESPN telecast is on Monday, crews come in earlier for final preparations over the weekend. Though the NFL has devalued “MNF” by giving ESPN subpar games, it is still considered the more marquee weeknight game.
ESPN sees Manning as someone who can live up to the tradition of the Monday night banner, which is why the network is “going all-out,” in the words of another source, after Manning.
A TV executive, who has spoken to Manning in the past about broadcasting, said Manning has never given off the full vibe that he wanted to be in the booth.
Manning could be enticed by the spotlight of Monday night. Manning, 41, has long been a popular pitchman, but the more time that passes from when he was last on the field could hurt his marketability. Many NFL TV analysts, from Gruden to Terry Bradshaw to Howie Long, have had national commercials. John Madden set the standard in his day.
Disney, which owns ESPN, is in the process of buying many of Fox’s assets, in excess of $52 billion. Fox TV, where the Thursday night games will be broadcast, is not part of the proposed deal. The two sides recently worked together in allowing Fox studio analyst Alex Rodriguez to become the lead analyst on “Sunday Night Baseball.”
Now, though, Manning, if he wants in, can play the two sides against each other for maximum leverage.