Dan Orlovsky put on notice as ‘one of the great hosts’ eyed as ESPN replacement
ESPN’s takeover of NFL Network means a number of changes to personnel.
Andrew Marchand of The Athletic first reported that changes will be made to the No.2 broadcast team for ‘Monday Night Football’.
As part of the new agreement with the NFL, ESPN’s ‘Monday Night Football’ double-headers will be no longer.
Instead, it is expected that ESPN’s extra seven games, as per the new deal, will be played internationally.
That means the network’s current secondary crew, featuring Chris Fowler, Luis Riddick Jr. and Dan Orlovsky, who has been criticized for his NFL draft takes, will not be available amid other work commitments.
As for ESPN’s No. 1 NFL broadcasting team, made up of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, no changes are expected, with the pair set to call the network’s first Super Bowl next season.
Ahead of former Detroit Lions quarterback Orlovsky losing his role in the booth, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith issued a warning to his bosses stating D.O. could be easily swooped up by other networks.
It’s a warning that the hierarchy seem to have ignored, as Marchand revealed the Worldwide Leader in Sports is looking to bring in an ESPN legend to be a part of the new-look crew.
“I think Steve Levy has an outside chance,” Marchand said on his Marchand Sports Media podcast.
“I think he’s somebody you got to put on the list… [Dave] Pasch has the inside track when you talk about classic play-by-players for that NFL job.
“And then Levy is a guy who I do think there are people at ESPN who felt did him wrong when they replaced him with Fowler on that second time after Levy was on the No.1 team.
“Levy is a guy who is one of the great hosts in ESPN’s history.”
Despite the takeover, and reports that the network is re-shaping their No.2 broadcast crew, Orlovsky will not be leaving ESPN completely.
He is set to continue being a lead analyst for Get Up, First Take, and NFL Live.
Orlovsky extended his contract with the network in July 2025, which will keep him at the network for the next few years.
He recently caused a stir after doubling down on his claim that Ty Simpson is better than former Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who has been widely tripped to be the No.1 pick in the upcoming draft.
Levy, meanwhile, is one of ESPN’s most iconic and recognizable voices, and has been with the network since August, 1993, predominantly covering NHL.
In 2019, Levy was brought in to call one of the network’s Monday Night Football matchups alongside Brian Griese and Riddick.
The following year, the trio were named to lead the MNF crew, and they did that for two years until the network replaced them with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman.
Levy joined Riddick and Orlovsky on the network’s ‘B’ team, but he was replaced by Fowler.
Levy could understand being replaced for legendary announcers in Buck and Aikman, but the Fowler swap was a tougher pill to swallow.
“That’s tougher to take. I’ll be honest, that was a tough one to take,” Levy said on the Awful Announcing Podcast.
“There’s lots of conversations that go on that I’m not privy to and at the end of the day, I’m an employee and I’ve got bosses and I do what I am told.
“I thought whatever the three or four games that we were getting on that second package, I thought that was a really nice landing spot after the two years I had.”
Stay up to date with the latest from the NFL across all platforms – follow our dedicated talkSPORT USA Facebook page and subscribe to our talkSPORT USA YouTube channel for all the news, exclusives, interviews and more.
What's Your Reaction?
Like
0
Dislike
0
Love
0
Funny
0
Angry
0
Sad
0
Wow
0
