Joe Tessitore and Booger McFarland will be ESPN's new Monday Night Football booth

Ben Strauss, the Washington Post

published

13:56 PDT, Wednesday, May 1, 2019

A year ago, ESPN announced its new booth "Monday Night Football" with fanfare. Jason Witten retired and headed straight for broadcasting to Tony Romo, where he would join the always enthusiastic Joe Tessitore. In addition, the network would introduce a new gadget for Booger McFarland: a giant chair resembling a crane that would move on the key, nicknamed the "Booger Mobile".

By the end of the season, ESPN had eliminated the presidency and Witten's transition from broadcaster was so difficult that he did not retire and would be back with the Cowboys this fall.

Wednesday's news that McFarland is moving upstairs and joining Tessitore for "Monday Night Football" next year was a little quieter than last season. Lisa Salters will also continue in her role as a secondary reporter.

If the move turned out to be somewhat anti-climatic – ESPN said McFarland was not available for talks on Wednesday – it was also partly because of those who would not be present. ESPN executives met former quarterback Peyton Manning about work in recent weeks, but failed to convince him to participate in the broadcast.

"We are very confident that Joe and Booger are forming our team on the stand," wrote ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro. "They have a strong relationship, they are genuine and enthusiastic, they have both made progress last season and now have this weekly platform to grow and grow together."

Tessitore and McFarland will be responsible for bringing back some polish in Monday Night Football. Last season, Witten made headlines in a series of mismanagement – Aaron Rodgers "pulled a rabbit out of his head" – or blunders, suggesting for instance that the NFL battling the smuggler's rules had become "too On the left ". Witten has never reached a level of comfort in the booth, and the critical response and criticism of social media has often been brutal.

"Of course, I was beaten, I know," said Witten last month.

McFarland, a former defensive forward, spent nine seasons in the NFL, mostly with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and won two Super Bowls. He started last season in his chair, but the design had to be adjusted because it blocked the view of the fans. finally, he was transferred to the stand for the play-off with ESPN. McFarland and Tessitore have been working together for five years, dating back to the SEC network pre-game show, and ESPN hopes chemistry is evident in the shows.

Many audio-visual analysts are either back quarters or former offensive players, making McFarland a peerless benchmark among his peers. He will also be the only African-American to be part of the best broadcast teams at CBS, ESPN, FOX or NBC.

"I do not know why it's unique, but that's it," said Stephanie Druley, ESPN's executive vice president, responsible for event production and studios. "It's a little surprising, but it's something we're proud of."

Druley added, "Monday night football" can never be a consolation prize. It's a very coveted job and we've been doing due diligence in this area. This does not need to be explained to Booger. We were very open and honest. with him through the process. "

Several industry insiders have suggested that ESPN would have options for the 2020 season if the network was looking for a more visible stand. Tony Romo, currently with CBS, could become a free agent and stars Drew Brees and Philip Rivers would be in high demand by broadcasters if they retired.

"When you make these decisions, you hope they're in the long run," Druley said, adding that the network had not auditioned anyone again this year after exhaustive searches last season.

"Monday Night Football" kicks off its 50th season on September 9th when Tessitore, McFarland and Salters will be in New Orleans for a game between the Texans of Saints in Houston, as part of a weekend-long double. Opening on ESPN.