Less than two weeks after laying off Ryan Clark, ESPN has set his apparent replacement on “Monday Night Countdown.”
ESPN announced Monday that Jason McCourty is joining “Monday Night Countdown” as an analyst this season, presumably filling the vacancy left by Clark, who was laid off late last month. McCourty has been with ESPN since 2024, but is entering his first full season exclusive to the network, having dropped his game analyst role with CBS in June.
The rest of last year’s “Countdown” cast was Scott Van Pelt, Jason Kelce and Marcus Spears, and there is no indication that any of those cast members will not be returning.
“Countdown” has been something of a revolving door in recent years. After laying off multiple cast-members after the 2022-23 season — Suzy Kolber and Steve Young — the show retooled by bringing in Van Pelt, Clark and Marcus Spears alongside the returning Robert Griffin III and Larry Fitzgerald. That team stayed intact for just one season before Griffin (via layoff) and Fitzgerald were replaced by Jason Kelce.
Now Clark has been laid off, apparently replaced by McCourty, meaning the show will have a fourth-different cast in five years.
The changes are not limited to the studio. ESPN announced late last week that its secondary NFL game broadcast team will have a new sideline reporter this year, promoting Molly McGrath from the college ranks. The news was first reported by Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports.
Sports Media Watch has learned that McGrath will be the sole sideline reporter on the secondary team — which starting this season will cover games on ESPN’s newly-acquired NFL Network — filling a role that last season was occupied by Peter Schrager and Katie George. Schrager may still fill a sideline role when NFL Network has a doubleheader, as it will in Week 16.
McGrath — who joined ESPN in 2016 after a previous stint with Fox Sports — will be part of a secondary NFL broadcast team that will also include play-by-play voice Dave Pasch, now a full-time ESPN employee after leaving his role as voice of the Arizona Cardinals. ESPN has not yet announced who will serve as the analyst.
Previously, ESPN’s secondary NFL team consisted of play-by-play voice Chris Fowler alongside analysts Louis Riddick and Dan Orlovsky, with the aforementioned Schrager and George on the sidelines. Fowler was unable to continue in the role because the expanded NFL Network schedule will be heavy on international games, disrupting his college football duties.
In addition to the game broadcast role, McGrath will serve as a fill-in host on “NFL Live.”
