Fans tuning into tonight’s “Sunday Night Football” game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Chicago Bears will notice there is no Mike Tirico in the announcer booth. Instead, NBC had to make a last-minute change swapping Tirico for Ian Eagle.
NBC announced that Tirico is dealing with a health issue that sidelined him for the Buccaneers-Bears game.
In a statement released by Tirico via NBC, the veteran announcer indicated he plans to return to the booth for next week’s “Sunday Night Football” game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals.
“Unfortunately, I will have to miss tonight’s game in Chicago due to a health issue,” Tirico noted in a November 8, statement released by NBC.
“I look forward to watching tonight and can’t wait to be back with Cris (Collinsworth), Melissa (Stark) and the rest of our SNF team next Sunday night in Cincinnati.”
Eagle is temporarily joining Cris Collinsworth to announce the Buccaneers-Bears game on “Sunday Night Football.” The move is not permanent as Tirico indicated his plans to return to NBC for NFL Week 10.
ESPN Expected to Replace Troy Aikman on ‘Monday Night Football’ in 2027 Amid Drama With Joe Buck
While this move is temporary, the NFL is in the midst of serious transition for the top announcer teams on several networks. CBS abruptly replaced Tony Romo with J.J. Watt as the former NFL pass rusher joined Jim Nantz for the network’s top announcer pairing months after the quarterback’s arrest.
Additionally, ESPN has their own drama as a private feud between Troy Aikman and Joe Buck became public. Aikman’s deal with ESPN ends following the upcoming Super Bowl in February.
Greg Olsen Is the Favorite to Join Joe Buck on ‘Monday Night Football’
ESPN is expected to replace Aikman with another announcer in 2027. The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand reported that Fox’s Greg Olsen is the favorite to replace Aikman and join Buck on “Monday Night Football” in 2027.
Fans may remember that Fox hired Tom Brady and demoted Olsen from their top announcing team in 2024.
“ESPN does not have a set plan, nor any agreements in place today, if Aikman is done with the network after the Super Bowl,” Marchand wrote in an October 30, story titled, “‘I never thought you’d do it to me’: Inside Troy Aikman and Joe Buck’s ESPN unraveling.”
“However, it could look to Fox for a fourth time, having gotten its current booth and now director from its rival,” Marchand continued.
“Fox’s No. 2 game analyst, Greg Olsen, is widely considered by people inside the sports-media industry to be the favorite to replace Aikman on ‘Monday Night Football,’ though ESPN could try to convince Peyton and/or Eli Manning, Travis and/or Jason Kelce or may hold out the possibility of using Kirk Herbstreit, though he just re-signed an NFL deal with Prime Video.”
Mike Tirico Praised ‘Sunday Night Football’ Announcer Cris Collinsworth
This is just the latest NFL rumors in a game of musical chairs amid changes by the top networks. Tirico replaced Al Michaels on “Sunday Night Football” in 2022 after the announcer bolted NBC to call Amazon Prime’s “Thursday Night Football.”
As for working alongside Collinsworth, Tirico revealed that there is a certain freedom in the “Sunday Night Football” booth.
“He’s not afraid to answer any question,” Tirico said of Collinsworth during a January 30, feature with The Athletic’s Matt Barrows. “I’ve worked with people you have to be very specific with. ‘What exactly are you going to ask them? Well, be very careful.’
“Cris is so knowledgeable and quick on his feet that you could ask him anything, and he’s going to give you an honest answer.”
Where Is Mike Tirico? Here’s What Happened to NBC’s ‘Sunday Night Football’ Announcer