ESPN NFL reporter Vaughn McClure died at his Atlanta residence today. McClure was 48 years old.

McClure was actively reporting up through the past few days, so the news comes as a shock to many.

From ESPN.com’s story on his passing:

Vaughn McClure, a member of ESPN’s NFL coverage team since 2013, died this week at his home near Atlanta. He was 48.

McClure joined ESPN to cover the NFL, and settled in on the Atlanta Falcons beat as part of NFL Nation. He covered the team during its run to Super Bowl LI in 2017. He contributed to ESPN’s television and radio coverage of the Falcons and NFL as well.

“We all loved Vaughn,” said John Pluym, senior deputy editor for digital NFL coverage at ESPN. “He had a heart of gold. He was so helpful to our reporters. In the last few hours, we’ve heard so many stories about how Vaughn had helped them with a story or how he put in a good word for them with a coach or player.”

McClure also spent time covering the Bears for the Chicago Tribune, with other stops at the Sun-Times, Fresno Bee, South Bend Tribune, and the DeKalb Daily Chronicle.

Many of his media colleagues and even the Atlanta Falcons organization immediately remembered him, in glowing terms.

It’s tough to end any post like this, so we’ll go back to ESPN’s story for words from one of his many editors:

Pluym added: “Talking to Vaughn on the phone was always a joy. I loved how you could just sense the excitement in his voice for being able to cover the Falcons for ESPN. We will all miss him greatly. And I’ll end this the way Vaughn ended every phone call with a colleague: ‘Appreciate you. Love you.’ We all loved him, too.”

RIP, Vaughn McClure.

[ESPN, photo ESPN images]

About Jay Rigdon

Jay is a columnist at Awful Announcing. He is not a strong swimmer. He is probably talking to a dog in a silly voice at this very moment.