Axed ESPN personality returns to network to host revived show that was removed from schedule

It didn’t take long for ESPN to bring back a familiar face to thenetwork.

Former SportsCenter anchor Stan Verrett announced that he is joining NFL Network to host the revived ‘NFL Total Access’ show.

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“Career news: Joining @nflnetwork for the return of “NFL Total Access” Tuesday-Friday 12pm-2pm eastern, beginning next week,” Verrett tweeted.

“When I joined @espn in 2000, one of my goals was to be a part of its NFL coverage. Always enjoyed covering everything on @SportsCenter but pro football remained my passion.

“Here we are all these years later, and I can’t wait to get started.”

Several NFL media personalities, including NFL insider Adam Schefter, congratulated Verrett on his return.

NFL Network, now under ESPN’s umbrella after their $3bn takeover in April, is bringing back the show two years after it was removed from the slate.

The show will cover news and analysis from around the league, with regular appearances from Steve Wyche and NFL Network insiders and reporters providing analysis.

Verrett spent 25 years at the ‘Worldwide Leader in Sport’, and became widely regarded as one of the best to do it.

In May, 2025 he announced that his contract with the network wasn’t renewed.

“The L.A. studio was closing and so it just didn’t make sense for me to go back to Bristol in terms of where my life is right now,” Verrett said in an interview with Awful Announcing at the time.

“For me, it wasn’t a career decision. It was a life decision. Even if there had been a renewal, that call for me to move back to Bristol, that’s not something I was interested in. It was totally amicable.”

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“There’s certainly no hard feelings on my end. I don’t think there are on their end. I had built a life out here in LA.

“I wanted to continue living here. And that didn’t work with what their future plans were.”

Just months after he was let go, he was hired by the New Orleans Saints to host their new digital pregame show.

He then joined FanDuel Sports Network as a pre and post-game anchor for the NBA‘s Los Angeles Clippers.

With Main Street Sports Group, the operator of FanDuel TV networks, ceasing operations Spring 2027, he was once again searching for a new role.

Verrett confirmed that he will continue to work for the Saints, alongside his new NFL Network role.

For Verrett, the new gig marks a full-circle return to national sports broadcasting, while he still gets to work for the franchise he loves.