I guess this shouldn’t come as shock to anyone, but NBC Chairman Dick Ebersol told USA Today that if Madden should want to retire, they have a replacement already lined up. That person of course is Cris Collinsworth.
Not that Madden has ever suggested he wants to retire. He noted Tuesday that “it doesn’t get any better” than working a Super Bowl and working another one “sounds pretty good.” And NBC’s Ebersol has repeated said that Madden will get that chance, saying he plans on keeping Madden at least through the remaining three seasons on NBC’s NFL TV deal. Tuesday, Ebersol even volunteered he’d be “devastated” if Madden decided to retire. But if Madden did step aside, said Ebersol, Collinsworth would be “the first guy” in line. Which makes sense, given that Ebersol hired Collinsworth to be NBC’s game analyst — until Madden, who’d been at ABC, became available. Ebersol, still wanting Collinsworth on games, had him practice play-by-play calls in hopes he could be teamed with Madden — until Al Michaels became available. Collinsworth, Tuesday, after being asked if he saw any chance in which he’d replace Madden in NBC’s current deal: “I hope not.”
I’m certainly a Collinsworth fan, but I don’t know how I would feel about the guy actually doing play-by-play for a network. There are certainly worse options out there, but I think the current plan of succession is perfect for NBC. The only problem is that Michaels has already said he would retire when Madden does, so I’m not sure if that ultimately does mean a move to PbP for Collinsworth.
Whither John Madden (Open Mike)
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