Kirk Herbstreit has been an iconic voice in college football for years, serving as a co-host of College GameDay and an analyst for ABC’s primetime game on Saturdays. Now, the legendary voice could be headed to the Monday Night Football booth.
Will Kirk Herbstreit join ESPN’s Monday Night Football booth?
Ever since ESPN missed out on Tony Romo and Peyton Manning, the network has been looking for a new color analyst to take over the reshaped Monday Night Football booth. After whiffing on top candidates outside the network, ESPN could be setting its sights on Kirk Herbstreit.
According to the New York Post’s Andrew Marchand, Herbstreit is starting to gain more momentum to become the top analyst for ESPN’s NFL broadcast. While it’s far from a done deal, per Merchand, the network is considering using him even if there is a college football season.
It was widely believed that ESPN would move Herbstreit and play-by-play announcer Chris Fowler to the MNF booth if the 2020 college football season was canceled. However, ESPN is now considering having Herbstreit serve as an analyst for the top game on Saturday and Monday.
The NFL is reportedly high on Herbstreit, which is understandable given the respect he holds across the industry. As a result, he could wind up being in the booth for ABC’s primetime game each Saturday night and then traveling to do the MNF broadcast for ESPN.
In that scenario, ESPN would likely partner Herbstreit with Steve Levy. So, he would work with Fowler on Saturdays and Levy on Mondays. The MNF pairing could only last for the 2020 NFL season, giving ESPN another year to see if it can lure a top analyst to join the booth.