ESPN must replace Jason Witten in the Monday Night Football broadcast booth, and they would be wise to consider Andrea Kremer and Hannah Storm.
Jason Witten was a part of ESPN’s Monday Night Football broadcast team for the 2018 NFL season, but he recently re-signed with the Dallas Cowboys, leaving a vacancy in the both. As such, ESPN should consider the team of Andrea Kremer and Hannah Storm for this prestigious primetime slot.
While Jason Witten is a future Hall of Famer and one of the most decorated tight ends in NFL history as a pass-catcher and blocker, the Dallas Cowboys franchise icon was far from iconic in the commentary booth last season.
Completely out his depth, Witten became more famous for his weird political jabs than for his football analysis, which was rarely decipherable and often rudimentary. Witten has officially rejoined the Cowboys for the 2019 season after taking a one-year break in the booth, and now ESPN must discuss his replacement on the Monday Night Football broadcast.
FanSided.com editor Andrea Hangst had an excellent suggestion – why not replace Witten with Andrea Kremer and Hannah Storm?
While neither Kremer nor Storm are currently employed by ESPN, both women have experience working with the self-proclaimed “world wide leader”. Kremer and Storm have helped break down barriers for women in sports media for decades, and, last season, they became the first female announcing team in NFL history, calling games for Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime.
Kremer and Storm are award-winning journalists who have all the qualifications to call an NFL game for ESPN on a weekly basis, especially since they did this exact job for a full season in 2018. Both women were miles better than many of their peers, with the likes of Witten and Booger McFarland included in that mix.
Therefore, ESPN should strongly consider adding Storm and Kremer to the booth on Monday nights. Though Joe Tessitore is a real asset on the mic and one of the best commentators in the business, ESPN can still make the Storm/Kremer team work.
A trio of announcers could be one solution, but the media juggernaut can easily find another great role for Tessitore, giving Kremer and Storm the booth to themselves.
They don’t need another person in the mix with the chemistry and ability they have, and replacing Tessitore would be a small price to pay.
Furthermore, having Kremer and Storm calling Monday Night Football broadcasts in 2019 would be an important, meaningful step towards equality and change in football – a sport that still remains stuck in the past in many ways.
Even though it was ground-breaking for Storm and Kremer to announce Thursday Night Football games last season, SB Nation’s Natalie Weiner pointed out that they were an alternative broadcast on Amazon; fans could simply switch to Troy Aikman and Joe Buck if they wanted to.
There shouldn’t even be an option to switch from Kremer and Storm, who are accomplished journalists, commentators, and analysts with years of experience covering the NFL.
They clearly know what they are talking about, they excelled in their first season on the job, and they are absolutely just as qualified as anyone for this job.
Peyton Manning and Joe Thomas are among the other names speculated as potential Witten replacements, and while nobody can deny their on-field credentials, by the same token, nobody can deny what Kremer and Storm have done in the media.
And while there are plenty of former NFL players in the booth, Kremer and Storm are the only women and bring an elite level of expertise in broadcast journalism to the table.
They can do so much more than an alternative Amazon Prime stream, and ESPN would be wise to strongly consider making a move to bring these two to their Monday Night Football broadcasts.