Ron "Jaws" Jaworski has exited the Monday Night Football broadcast booth, in a move announced today by ESPN management.
Jaworski was part of a three-man booth on the ESPN telecasts of Monday Night Football, along with former NFL coach Jon Gruden and longtime broadcaster Mike Tirico.
Ron Jaworski was given the good news and bad news as were the rest of us because of how ESPN spun the decision. In the course of signing a contract extension with the former NFL quarterback, his many new roles at the network were included along with the news about his departure from MNF.
"Ron Jaworski has signed a five-year extension with ESPN for a new, expanded multiplatform NFL analyst role that includes appearances on Sunday NFL Countdown, Monday Night Countdown, NFL Matchup, NFL-branded specials, Mike & Mike in the Morning, Pardon the Interruption, and other platforms and shows throughout the year.
Also, ESPN’s Monday Night Football will have a new two-person commentator team for the first time during ESPN's airing of the games during the 2012 NFL season with Mike Tirico and analyst Jon Gruden."
Three men in the broadcast booth has been the rule for the once premiere NFL primetime game but Jaworski and Gruden competed for air time to say much the same things during their two seasons together.
While Jaworski's strength has been film study and analysis of every move on the field of any player in a game, Gruden took a broader approach by conducting one-on-one interviews with that week's star player, but ended up analyzing the offensive sets on the field in a not dissimilar way from Jaws.
From Gruden's statement in the same announcement about Jaworski, it seems he was not in favor of the move. “I understand there are times when players have to put their faith in the coaches and other decision-makers who are trying to position a team for success, and that’s what I’m doing here. I have faith in the people I’m working for here at ESPN."
In the Jaworski-Gruden-Tirico combination there was no jokester or football outsider among them as was true for years, including those that immediately preceded Gruden's arrival.
Tony Kornheiser, ESPN host of Pardon The Interruption (PTI) got his turn at trying to provide the average person's view of the game. It was hoped that he would bring his biting wit and ability to look at a situation as a mere fan, rather than a football analyst.
The experiment ended after three seasons with a statement that Kornheiser didn't want to continue the travel involved in being part of MNF, while keeping up his five day a week chores on PTI. While Kornheiser fans know about his fear of flying and nature as a homebody, there was the small matter of Tony not providing what the network wanted.
Additionally, according to official ESPN biographers James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales, who wrote the best seller "ESPN: Those Guys Have All the Fun", there was a nastiness between Tirico and Kornheiser that Tony was open about when interviewed for the book.
Ron Jaworski will remain an ESPN football presence, just not in the MNF booth. If and when Gruden leaves to coach again, there are plenty of candidates at the network to replace him.
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons
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