Joe Theismann is taking his departure from Monday Night Football quite well.
That is, if one discounts the immaturity and bitterness that has led him to denigrate the current MNF booth at every possible turn. After calling the current incarnation of MNF the “Tony Kornheiser show” and referring to Kornheiser as “neurotic” during previous interviews, the unemployed Theismann has continued his public criticism.
“Personally? No, I don’t like it,” Theismann said of MNF on Fox Sports Radio, “And it has nothing to do with the fact that I’m not there. I watch football games to learn and watch football. I see Ron Jaworski trying to do football. I see Mike Tirico trying to get back to football.”
If Jaworski and Tirico are trying to get back to the game, it would seem obvious that Theismann is saving his criticism for Kornheiser — without plainly saying so, of course. Theismann’s criticisms are correct; there is no doubt that, too often, Monday Night Football strays from the game at hand. Still, Theismann’s constant criticism of Kornheiser crossed the line to unprofessional a long time ago.
By all accounts, this is true. However, considering the source of the comments, it also seems petty and petulant — akin to the protestations of a high school cheerleader kicked off the squad. The sheer volume of Theismann’s complaints about MNF seem to indicate that his criticism goes beyond simply pointing out what is wrong with the show.
And one thing Theismann should remember is that while many will agree with his sentiments regarding the MNF team of Tirico, Jaworski and Kornheiser, those same people agreeing with him now are the ones who celebrated and lauded his departure from the booth last March. In fact, while Kornheiser has continued to be a nuisance in the booth, the prevailing sentiment is that the current three-man team is an improvement over last year’s edition, simply because Theismann was replaced by Jaworski.
“I miss Monday Night Football,” Theismann said in the same radio interview. Most NFL fans will likely agree. And by the same token, those same fans — and certainly the three-man team on Monday Night Football — do not miss Joe.









