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ESPN is poised to have Louis Riddick, Brian Griese, and Steve Levy as its new “Monday Night Football” announcer team, sources said.
However, the decision is not finalized. Kirk Herbstreit and Chris Fowler, ESPN’s top college football announce team, could still move over to MNF if there’s no college football season this fall, sources said. ESPN declined to comment.
Jim Miller, author of “Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN,” was first to report news of the potential new MNF broadcast trio via Twitter.
The new booth would succeed Joe Tessitore and Booger McFarland last season. A three-man booth brings back memories of MNF’s glory years with Howard Cosell, Frank Gifford and Don Meredith. But ESPN has not had much success with three-person announce booths on “Monday Night Football.”
The initial three-person team of Tessitore, Jason Witten, and McFarland crashed and burned, with Witten returning to the NFL after one season in the booth. Ditto for the three-person team of Jon Gruden, Ron Jaworski, and Mike Tirico. As well as the previous trio of Tony Kornheiser, Jaworski, and Tirico.
Riddick, Levy, and Griese were in the booth together for the second half of the MNF season-opening doubleheader last September, a game between the Oakland Raiders and Denver Broncos. Levy and Griese have also called Broncos preseason games for the last two years.
Levy, who celebrates his 27th year at ESPN on Aug. 1, has filled several roles at the network from “SportsCenter” anchor to NHL play-by-play.
Riddick, a former pro scout, joined ESPN in 2013 and has served as an analyst on “Sunday NFL Countdown,” “Monday Night Countdown,” and “NFL Live.”
Griese joined ESPN in 2009 after an 11-season career as an NFL quarterback with stops with the Broncos, Miami Dolphins, Chicago Bears, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
