ESPN announced the launch of Monday Blitz, a weekly studio show covering both college football and the NFL, and it will feature several prominent names.
As The New York Post’s Andrew Marchand first reported, Michael Eaves will host the new show, with Booger McFarland and Herm Edwards as analysts. Mel Kiper Kr., Adam Schefter and Pete Thamel will make regular appearances on this show, which has been added to fill out the network’s afternoon lineup.
As the new afternoon offering, Monday Blitz will debut next Monday, Sept. 11 and the weekly studio show will lead into NFL Live (4-5 p.m.) and Monday Night Countdown (6-8 p.m.), building up to Monday Night Football (8 p.m.) each week.
NFL Live will be broadcasting live from MetLife Stadium before the regular broadcast of Around the Horn and Pardon the Interruption. Then, all of the programming will lead into the first Monday Night Football prime-time game of the regular season between the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets.
Here’s more from the release:
Monday Blitz will be a fast-paced, one-hour offering that blends the NFL and college football – focusing both on the weekend that was and broader topics such as the NFL Draft. Additionally, the show will spotlight moments and significant achievements from all levels of football, such as high school, youth and flag football.
ESPN adds Monday Blitz (3p ET) to🏈filled Monday afternoon lineup
🏈New show blends #NFL & #CFB news
🎙️@ESPNBooger, Herm Edwards, @michaeleaves, @AdamSchefter, @PeteThamel & @MelKiperESPN🏈NFL Live, Monday Night Countdown & #MNF to follow each week
🔗https://t.co/84hUXRH2Tg pic.twitter.com/XbSz0ByTzs
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) September 6, 2023
As Marchand previously noted, Monday Blitz will be overseen by ESPN executive editor and head of event and studio production Norby Williamson, and it replaces NFL Rewind in the 3 p.m. ET slot. Last season, NFL Rewind started by featuring host Wendi Nix and analysts Jeff Saturday and Damien Woody. They altered that lineup after Saturday’s November departure for the NFL.
Now the lineup has been altered again in a new show format and will include the likes of Eaves, McFarland and Edwards.
Eaves has been with ESPN since 2015, after working at Fox Sports West and Prime Ticket. At ESPN, he has worked on SportsCenter, NBA Countdown, and other shows. He has hosted SportsCenter from events such as The Masters and has also reported from both the Summer and Winter Olympics.
McFarland and Edwards, the analysts on the new show, both have significant experience in both college football and the NFL. McFarland started with ESPN in 2014 as an SEC Network analyst, then moved to ESPN and ABC college football coverage in 2017. He then joined Monday Night Football in 2018 (on the infamous BoogerMobile) and 2019 (as a regular in-booth commentator). He has worked on both NFL and CFB shows since 2020. Edwards, on the other hand, has spent most of his time with ESPN and in the coaching ranks focused on the NFL. However, he left the network in 2018 to become the head coach at Arizona State. He held that role until last fall when he returned to ESPN as both a CFB and NFL analyst.
[ESPN]
