Stephen A. Smith wants to be a part of ‘Monday Night Football’

Are you ready for some football? Because Stephen A. Smith is ready to give it to you on Monday Night Countdown.

ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown already went through one big change this past offseason, replacing the since fired Robert Griffin III with Jason Kelce. But if it were up to Smith, the show would continue cycling through a seemingly continuous carousel of changes by inserting him into the cast. Smith recently told Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports that he wants to be part of Monday Night Football.

“I don’t want to insult the legacy of the great Howard Cosell, who’s somebody that I idolized. But that’s what I want to do,” Smith told FOS at ESPN’s recent media day. “When I think about the NFL, I’m not talking about being in the booth with Troy Aikman and Joe Buck. You don’t mess with that chemistry; you leave that alone.

“But I’m unapologetic about what I want. I would love to be a part of Monday Night Football. I would love to work with [Monday Night Countdown’s new cast including] Jason Kelce and Scott Van Pelt and Ryan Clark and my man Marcus Spears. I mean, two of those guys are on First Take every week.”

With Smith not hiding from the fact that he’s seeking to become ESPN’s highest-paid talent while negotiating his next contract, he knows NFL games are where the money is at. Burke Magnus even recently noted “there’s a different calculus” when determining the pay scale of game talent compared to that of daytime talent. Smith can try to combat that by offering his services to NFL games, particularly through Monday Night Countdown.

“Of course, I believe that I can do it,” Smith continued to FOS. “When you think about Howard Cosell and what he meant to the business, do I believe I have the potential to mean nearly as much? Yes, I do. So that’s my opinion. It doesn’t mean that opinion is shared by others. We’ll find out …”

But is it what the people want? No one is looking at ESPN or any network’s NFL coverage and saying, “You know what this is missing? Stephen A. Smith.” Traditionally, fans expect Monday Night Countdown to be a little more NFL heavy than what Smith offers during a football debate segment on First Take. That’s not to say Smith is incapable of fitting in on Monday Night Countdown, but how much will he add to the program? It seems like an ask that would ultimately benefit Smith more than it would benefit ESPN or NFL fans.

[FOS]