Stan Verrett has found his next landing spot, and it’s a homecoming.
The New Orleans Saints announced on Wednesday that the veteran broadcaster will host the team’s new pregame show, which debuts with the 2025 season and will air across all official Saints digital platforms. The show will air 60 minutes before kickoff for every Saints game and feature former Saints linebacker Scott Shanle, team reporter Erin Summers, and Verrett.
For the now-former SportsCenter anchor, it’s a return to his roots. The 25-year ESPN veteran is a New Orleans native and St. Augustine High School alumnus who started his career as a weekend sports anchor and reporter at WDSU-TV before joining ESPN in 2000.
“We are thrilled to welcome Stan Verrett back home to New Orleans and into the Saints family,” Saints President Dennis Lauscha said in a statement. “Stan’s experience, insight, and love for this city make him the perfect host to lead this new pregame show.”
The Saints’ gig represents the latest chapter in what’s been a busy transition period for Verrett. ESPN announced in May that Verrett would leave the network when his contract expires this summer, marking the end of a 25-year run that included co-hosting the 1 a.m. ET edition of SportsCenter alongside Neil Everett from 2009-23.
Verrett’s departure from ESPN was tied to the network’s decision to close its Los Angeles studio and move SportsCenter operations back to Bristol. Rather than relocate, Verrett chose to stay in Los Angeles, where he’d built a life over the past 16 years.
“The L.A. studio was closing, and so it just didn’t make sense for me to go back to Bristol in terms of where my life is right now,” Verrett told Awful Announcing. “For me, it wasn’t a career decision. It was a life decision.”
The split was amicable, and Verrett made it clear he wasn’t ready to retire. Those “incredible opportunities” he hinted at in May are now coming to fruition.
Beyond the Saints’ role, Verrett is reuniting with Everett for a new Twitch show that launches on Sept. 9. The show will run twice weekly, on Tuesdays and Fridays, with a looser format than their old SportsCenter partnership.
“Our main goal is to have fun each show,” Verrett said when announcing the Twitch venture.
The Saints’ new pregame show will kick off Sept. 7 when New Orleans plays host to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 1. And for a franchise looking to strengthen its digital content offerings, landing a broadcaster with Verrett’s credentials and local ties checks multiple boxes.
New Orleans gets an experienced broadcaster who understands the market. Verrett gets to stay put while continuing his career. Sometimes the pieces just fit.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.