NBC announced Wednesday that 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, recently retired Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald, Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward, and 49ers linebacker Fred Warner will join Sunday’s Super Bowl LX pregame show.
If anyone in that group looks built for a future in sports media, it’s Warner and Heyward.
Warner, in particular, has used the 2025 postseason as something of an audition tour. He joined ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown during Wild Card weekend in January and earned high praise from ESPN vice president of production Seth Markman, who told Richard Deitsch that Warner was “as good as I’ve seen from a current player in a long time.” Warner also appeared on NBC’s Football Night in America in December after an ankle injury sidelined him for the Bears–49ers game.
Heyward is even further along in building a media footprint. The seven-time Pro Bowler hosts Not Just Football with co-host Hayden Walsh, a podcast he moved from Omaha Productions and ESPN to Vox Media in August 2024. He told The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand a few months later that he’s keeping his options open — whether in the studio or the booth — and ultimately wants to launch his own production company once his playing career ends.
Donald’s post-retirement plans are harder to read. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year retired in March 2024 after a decade with the Rams. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport has previously suggested Donald could explore acting, even floating the idea of him becoming an “action movie star.” Donald has made a handful of media appearances, including a cameo as a guest picker on College GameDay for Pitt–Notre Dame, but there’s little indication he’s seriously pursuing a broadcasting career.
Shanahan’s inclusion makes sense as one of only four active head coaches to reach multiple Super Bowls, and the fact that the Super Bowl is being played in Santa Clara. And while Shanahan is one of the smartest offensive minds in football and could probably become the next John Madden in the booth if he wanted, there’s zero indication he’s interested in broadcasting.
They’ll be part of a pregame desk led by Maria Taylor, joined by Jac Collinsworth and Noah Eagle, with analysis from Tony Dungy, Jason Garrett, Rodney Harrison, Devin McCourty, and Chris Simms.
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.