Two years ago, Bill Belichick was the hottest commodity in NFL media circles, lining up a series of gigs in the short period between coaching stints. One of them was The Breakdown, an ESPN film-room series where he and Peyton Manning broke down the X’s and O’s of upcoming Monday Night Football games.
This year, it appears that Luke Kuechly is the hottest name in NFL broadcasting, and he’s moving into the seat previously occupied by Belichick.
According to The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand, the Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee will join Manning on The Breakdown on the ESPN app, with an expected start time in October, leading into ESPN’s Super Bowl broadcast.
ESPN declined comment.
A radio analyst for the Carolina Panthers, Kuechly’s stock skyrocketed in recent weeks as Netflix named him its top NFL game analyst. Per Marchand, who also broke the Netflix news, Kuechly auditioned earlier in July with NBC’s Noah Eagle, who is expected to be the top NFL play-by-play voice for Netflix, and the duo “showed immediate chemistry.”
The former NFL linebacker will also call some games for CBS.
The Breakdown did not air during the 2025 NFL season after Belichick renounced his media gigs to take the head coaching job at North Carolina.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.