- Messages
- 79,278
- Reaction score
- 45,634
Millen Heading To NFLN?
Posted by Mike Florio on May 27, 2009, 6:12 p.m.
We reported last week that ESPN’s Matt Millen was miffed at the addition of Jon Gruden to the network’s Monday Night Football broadcast. As we’ve heard it, Millen believes he was promised dibs on the first open chair in the booth. (ESPN denied that any such promise was made to Millen, or that he was upset about anything.)
We also reported that, before taking a job with ESPN, Millen had an agreement in principle with NBC — and that he also was talking to NFL
Network about replacing Cris Collinsworth as the color analyst for Thursday Night Football. (Collinsworth will be replacing John Madden as the analyst on NBC’s Sunday Night Football, and consequently stepping away from his part-time gig at NFLN.)
We’d been told that, after Millen didn’t get the spot that went to Gruden, Millen tried to resurrect negotiations with NFLN. Initially, we heard that the league-owned network was not expected to be receptive, given that Millen previously had dissed NFLN.
We’re now hearing that Millen could end up getting the job.
Millen likely would take the position on a moonlighting basis, working for ESPN as a college football analyst and as one of the members of the Monday Night Football pre-game and post-game on-site desk, in the chair previously “debacled” by Emmitt Smith.
But things could get dicey in November, once the NFLN games begin and the college season is still winding down. For any NCAA games Millen would be working on a Saturday, he’d be showing up at the site of the contest on Friday.
So it’s unknown whether ESPN has agreed to this extra hat for Millen. Reached by e-mail this afternoon, ESPN spokesman Bill Hofheimer was not aware of the possible NFLN arrangement for Millen.
Meanwhile, one source with knowledge of the dynamics between Millen and NFLN analyst Steve Mariucci suggested that things could get awkward between the former Lions G.M. and the former Lions head coach. “The guys don’t like each other, to say the least,” the source said.
Posted by Mike Florio on May 27, 2009, 6:12 p.m.
We reported last week that ESPN’s Matt Millen was miffed at the addition of Jon Gruden to the network’s Monday Night Football broadcast. As we’ve heard it, Millen believes he was promised dibs on the first open chair in the booth. (ESPN denied that any such promise was made to Millen, or that he was upset about anything.)
We also reported that, before taking a job with ESPN, Millen had an agreement in principle with NBC — and that he also was talking to NFL
Network about replacing Cris Collinsworth as the color analyst for Thursday Night Football. (Collinsworth will be replacing John Madden as the analyst on NBC’s Sunday Night Football, and consequently stepping away from his part-time gig at NFLN.)We’d been told that, after Millen didn’t get the spot that went to Gruden, Millen tried to resurrect negotiations with NFLN. Initially, we heard that the league-owned network was not expected to be receptive, given that Millen previously had dissed NFLN.
We’re now hearing that Millen could end up getting the job.
Millen likely would take the position on a moonlighting basis, working for ESPN as a college football analyst and as one of the members of the Monday Night Football pre-game and post-game on-site desk, in the chair previously “debacled” by Emmitt Smith.
But things could get dicey in November, once the NFLN games begin and the college season is still winding down. For any NCAA games Millen would be working on a Saturday, he’d be showing up at the site of the contest on Friday.
So it’s unknown whether ESPN has agreed to this extra hat for Millen. Reached by e-mail this afternoon, ESPN spokesman Bill Hofheimer was not aware of the possible NFLN arrangement for Millen.
Meanwhile, one source with knowledge of the dynamics between Millen and NFLN analyst Steve Mariucci suggested that things could get awkward between the former Lions G.M. and the former Lions head coach. “The guys don’t like each other, to say the least,” the source said.
