Fox Sports reportedly plans to bump Greg Olsen to its secondary NFL broadcast team; ESPN has officially announced the hiring of Jason Kelce; Mike Tirico will host daytime Olympic coverage as well as his usual primetime role; plus, more sports media news.
Fox reportedly set to bump Greg Olsen down to “B” team
NFL analyst Greg Olsen will reportedly be demoted to the NFL on FOX “B” broadcast team alongside Joe Davis, with newcomer Tom Brady working alongside Kevin Burkhardt in a two-man booth, Ryan Glasspiegel of the New York Post reported Tuesday. Olsen is entering his third season with Fox, all alongside Burkhardt, including the last two as the FOX “A” team that called a Super Bowl in 2023.
Davis and Olsen previously worked together during the 2021 season, when Burhkardt had World Series duties and Davis had yet to take over the lead MLB play-by-play role from Joe Buck.
Olsen’s demotion appeared a foregone conclusion when he was not seen or mentioned at the Fox upfront presentation Monday, which heavily featured Brady.
Jason Kelce officially joins ESPN
Former Eagles C Jason Kelce has officially joined ESPN as an analyst for Monday Night Countdown, the network announced at its upfront on Tuesday. The Countdown panel will now consist of Scott Van Pelt, Ryan Clark, and Marcus Spears.
Kelce will replace Robert Griffin III on the ESPN pregame show.
After his retirement this offseason, Kelce’s robust media profile made him an attractive acquisition for the NFL’s partners. He hosts the popular New Heights podcast with his brother Travis and also appeared at WWE’s WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia last month. In addition to his pregame duties, ESPN also says that Kelce will contribute to its annual Super Bowl studio coverage.
Tirico to host some daytime Olympic coverage for NBC
NBC Sports announced Wednesday that Mike Tirico will host daytime coverage of the Summer Olympics on the NBC broadcast network in addition to his usual primetime duties. NBC is expanding its daytime coverage to nine hours per day and will feature live coverage of its most-prized events — swimming, gymnastics and track & field — which have traditionally been a staple of the primetime window.
Tirico, who last hosted daytime coverage during the Rio Summer Olympics eight years ago, will anchor the afternoon portion of the daytime show. He will be preceded Rebecca Lowe and “Today” host Craig Melvin in the morning and followed by Ahmed Fareed.
While NBC will carry the bulk of its daytime coverage (Noon-6 PM ET) live in all time zones, the network’s window will run from 9 AM-6 PM on both the East and West coasts. For the 3-6 PM PT portion that is seen only on the West Coast, Damon Hack of Golf Channel will host.
Plus: Gottlieb, Serena, Chris Paul
— Fox Sports Radio host and former college basketball player Doug Gottlieb has been hired as the head coach of the Green Bay men’s basketball team, it was announced Tuesday.
— Former tennis star Serena Williams has been named host of the annual ESPY Awards, marking her first time hosting the show, ESPN announced at its upfronts this week. Williams is the fifth current or former athlete to host the ESPYs in the past eight years. There was no host last year.
— Golden State Warriors G Chris Paul will serve as a guest analyst on ESPN’s “NBA Countdown” studio show during the Eastern Conference Finals, ESPN said Tuesday. Paul will join the usual “Countdown” team on shows that will originate from ESPN’s Los Angeles studio.
Drew Lerner contributed reporting.
