Former Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher has ended his time at Fox Sports after 13 months, citing a desire to spend more time with his family. Urlacher worked mainly on Fox Sports 1, appearing on the canceled Fox Football Daily and Fox NFL Kickoff.
There was no immediate word on who will replace Urlacher on Fox NFL Kickoff along with Joel Klatt and Randy Moss. I thought Urlacher was a decent enough analyst, but he just never seemed all that comfortable in his role. His departure isn’t a huge blow for Fox – even after the cancellation of Fox Football Daily in the spring, they still have more than enough on-air talent to fill out their coverage. I think I’d expect Scott Fujita and Brendan Ayenbadejo, both of whom were former linebackers during their career, to get more airtime after Urlacher’s exit.
The prevailing lesson here is that TV isn’t as easy as it looks. While Urlacher didn’t spectacularly flame out like other analysts have after transitioning to the studio, it didn’t seem like a great fit right from the beginning. There also seems to be no bad blood from Fox, as they released a statement saying they understood Urlacher’s decision while wishing him well.
In his statement, Urlacher thanked his coworkers.
“I have enjoyed the work, so this is a tough decision, but right now it’s best for me to dedicate my time to my family,” Urlacher said. “I’ve enjoyed my time at FOX Sports and want to thank all of the people who helped create the opportunity for me, especially Eric Shanks, John Entz, Jay Glazer, Joel Klatt, Curt Menefee, Randy Moss, and the dedicated production and support personnel I worked with over the last year.”
At least Urlacher’s departure is coming on good terms and isn’t the result of internal politics or other issues.
Comments are closed.