On Friday, ESPN announced their college football studio plans for the 2022 season, which includes a new face and an extension for an established voice.
The new face is former Florida coach Dan Mullen, who has made several appearances on ESPN’s networks as a guest analyst over the years. He’ll work on ESPN2’s studio coverage alongside Kevin Connors and Sam Acho.
ESPN’s studio coverage remains unchanged, with Matt Barrie hosting alongside analysts Joey Galloway and Jesse Palmer. In their release, ESPN noted that Palmer has been signed to a new mutli-year contract.
ABC’s studio coverage also remains an unchanged two-man affair. Kevin Negandhi hosts, and Booger McFarland joins him as an analyst.
The most significant news from this announcement is the hiring of Mullen. His work, particularly in the Film Room MegaCast broadcasts, has received positive reviews, and viewers will now get that insight on a weekly basis. I’m curious if he heads back into coaching after this season, or if he sticks around the broadcasting world for awhile. Plenty of coaches have spent time in broadcasting between coaching stints (Mack Brown, Urban Meyer, Jim Mora to name three off the top of my head), and I wouldn’t be surprised if Mullen’s broadcasting career comes to an end sooner rather than later for a role back on the sidelines.
[ESPN]
About Joe Lucia
I hate your favorite team. I also sort of hate most of my favorite teams.