Dan Fouts fondly recalls working ‘MNF’ with Dennis Miller: ‘He did his homework’

Dan Fouts sat in the Monday Night Football booth in 2000 and 2001, though his presence was often overshadowed by the other guy who filled the booth during those seasons.

Fouts was part of the infamous MNF booth that also included Al Michaels and Dennis Miller. The bold experiment didn’t lead to ratings success, and both Fouts and Miller were gone two years after arriving, but it remains one of sports media’s great “can you believe that happened?” scenarios.

The experimental NFL booth is memorialized in a new HBO documentary, Miller Night Football, which chronicles why and how a comedian best known as Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update host ended up in the coveted ABC booth, spitting esoteric references in the middle of Steelers-Packers games.

Fouts, a guest on this week’s episode of The Awful Announcing Podcast, recalled the curious events leading up to that booth from his perspective, admitting that he had no idea they planned to hire Miller when he took the job.

“When they approached me about the possibility of the job, I asked them, ‘ Who’s the 3rd man in the booth?’ And [ABC Sports’ Don] Ohlmeyer would not tell me,” Fouts told host Brandon Contes. “And I said, ‘What do you mean? Just who’s the third guy?’ And he said the words you probably never want to hear, but he says, ‘Take it or leave it.’

“What am I going to do, walk away from Monday Night Football?”

As one might imagine, the former NFL quarterback was a bit puzzled to learn that he and Michaels would be sharing a booth with a comedian, though he understood how Monday Night Football’s history informed the decision.

“Well, I said, ‘What?’ You know, ‘Are you kidding?’ But I started to think about it. And, you know, back in the original days of Monday Night Football, Howard Cosell was that ‘What?’ figure in the booth. ‘What’s he doing there?’ That worked out for them and for Howard,” said Fouts.

“Monday Night Football was the show, and Dandy Don [Meredith] and Frank [Gifford]. It was awesome. I think that’s what Ohlmeyer had in mind trying to create that type of buzz.”

While some believe Miller didn’t take the role seriously, trading football analysis for one-liners, the documentary shows how much the Pittsburgh native wanted to prove his football bona fides. Fouts saw that firsthand, too.

“Even though he rarely went to football games or ever went to a game, he watched a lot,” said Fouts of Miller. “He was from Pittsburgh. Big Steeler fan. And in those days, easy to be a Steeler fan because they were winning all the time. So, he was well prepared each week. He did his homework, and he was serious about the job.”

Unfortunately for Miller and Fouts, sagging ratings and the possibility of ABC hiring John Madden signaled the end of their MNF run. While Miller tried to make a case to remain in the booth, Fouts saw the writing on the wall.

“John Madden was available, okay. That’s like saying, ‘Do you want Babe Ruth to bat third in this lineup?’ John was the best of all time,” said Fouts. “He basically redefined the position of football analyst, and to pair him with Al was the right move.”

Fouts stayed on at ABC for a time calling college football, but later returned to CBS where he went on to call NFL games through 2019. These days, the 75-year-old partners with Noah Eagle on Los Angeles Chargers preseason game broadcasts.