Rich Eisen teases ‘SportsCenter’ appearances, will produce ‘This Was SportsCenter’ podcast for ESPN

Before he became the signature face of NFL Network, Rich Eisen was one of the many star hosts of SportsCenter during its heyday. Now that Eisen is set to return to ESPN this fall, he may also join the news program that made him a star.

Eisen announced this month that he is taking The Rich Eisen Show from Roku Channel to ESPN, licensing the self-produced property to the Worldwide Leader to fill its midday slot on ESPN Radio and add content to the network’s soon-to-be-launched streaming service. Separately, ESPN is close to purchasing NFL Media, bringing Eisen’s duties as a host and announcer back under the umbrella of the Worldwide Leader as well. That transaction could take as many as nine months to complete.

Discussing the move back to ESPN in an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show on Wednesday, Eisen did not close the door on returning to SportsCenter.

“That is to be determined at this point in time,” Eisen said. “We’re still hashing out some of the particulars.”

An Eisen reunion on SportsCenter would have been easier to imagine a few months ago. The host is based in Los Angeles, and ESPN just shuttered its SportsCenter production on the West Coast. Linda Cohn will remain with ESPN part-time, anchoring SportsCenter periodically out of Bristol, while Stan Verrett left the company in the spring.

Any Eisen appearances would require cross-country travel and would be outside his main scope of work. If anything, they could be special one-offs.

Eisen will, however, be hosting a podcast covering the network’s most iconic brand. On his show and on Patrick’s show this week, Eisen revealed details of the forthcoming This Was SportsCenter podcast, interviewing iconic hosts and staff involved with the show.

Patrick, who continues to express frustration with his fraught departure from the network, politely declined Eisen’s request to be his first guest on the podcast.