Seven steps ESPN can take to fix 'Monday Night Football'

Michael McCarthy

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Seven steps ESPN can take to fix 'Monday Night Football' image

On Thursday, Sporting News diagnosed the "mid-life crisis" facing "Monday Night Football" as the show wraps its 49th season. We would be remiss if we didn't offer some offer cures to extend the life of this beloved-but-middle-age patient.

No, ESPN can't buy a red sports car for Monday night. But it can and should think outside the box before its current 10-year, $15.2 billion Monday night deal expires after the 2021 season. 

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MORE: Mike Tirico, Joe Theismann talk "MNF" past, present, future

Some of these ideas are quick fixes. Others are blue-skying. But remember something: ABC's original "Monday Night Football" was viewed as an experiment that would likely flop back in 1970. The idea of flex scheduling to get the best games was also a pipe dream. Until it wasn't in 2006.

Without further ado, here are seven ideas to fix "Monday Night Football's" mid-life crisis:

1. Get Peyton Manning 

Dumping Jason Witten, the much-maligned rookie analyst, would be the knee-jerk solution for ESPN. But would it be the right one? Maybe not. Witten is no TV natural like CBS' Tony Romo, but he's improving. And who else is out there who's so much better?

Here's what we know: Before hiring Witten, ESPN auditioned everyone from Hall of Famer Brett Favre, Kurt Warner of NFL Network and Greg Olsen of the Panthers to the network's own Louis Riddick and Matt Hasselbeck, according to Lindsay Jones of The Athletic. All told, ESPN auditioned 11 potential color commentators, including Witten.

But the story doesn't mention the biggest fish that got away from ESPN's eager mitts: Peyton Manning. 

Manning was every network's first choice, including ESPN, when he retired from the NFL in 2016. With his encyclopedic film knowledge, folksy sense of humor and everyman appeal, he seemed like a TV slam-dunk.

But the NFL's all-time passing leader turned down overtures from both ESPN and Fox Sports. Since then the five-time MVP has kept a low profile, appearing in TV commercials and cheering on little brother Eli Manning of the Giants. Word is he wants to become a team owner, ala Michael Jordan and Derek Jeter, not a broadcaster. 

But times change. Manning may have noticed Romo having the time of his life with Jim Nantz at CBS. He may miss football. Oh, and Manning now has a business deal with Bristol for the "Detail" show on ESPN+. Listening to him break down NFL game film on "Detail," you get a glimpse of how good he can be as a color commentator. ESPN and Disney would likely back up the Brinks truck if the two-time Super Bowl winner is interested.

Many fans would also love Manning's return to the spotlight. The Mannings are NFL royalty. And Middle America especially loves Peyton, the former Colts/Broncos QB. It's not hard to draw a direct line between Manning's retirement in March 2016 and and the league's 20% ratings swoon during the 2016-2017 seasons. He's the only name out there with the star power to eclipse Romo at CBS, Cris Collinsworth at NBC and Troy Aikman at Fox.

My colleague SN Vinnie Iyer goes further: He says ESPN should hire Peyton, Cooper and Eli Manning, whenever Eli's ready to hang them up as an active NFL QB.

What about Witten? There'd be no shame to losing an NFL job, any NFL job, to Peyton Manning. ESPN could reassign him to an NFL studio job. CBS did exactly, moving Phil Simms from the lead analyst's chair to "The NFL Today" pregame show. Or ESPN can ask Witten to call college football games, where he can learn his trade away from the harsh national spotlight of "Monday Night Football." Yes, we know, he and the rest of the Monday night team have multi-year contracts. But tell that to the roughly 150 announcers, analysts and reporters who were laid off by ESPN in May 2017. Many had years remaining on their deals too.

Before moving on from Witten, however, you can be damn sure ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro, executive vice president of production Lee Fitting and "MNF" producer Jay Rothman will note one key metric: Monday night's viewership rose 10 percent through Week 15. ESPN averaged 13 million viewers for the Saints 12-9 win over the Panthers, up 37 percent from the comparable game last season. ESPN won the Monday night ratings war, across all networks, for the 15th straight week.

Granted, ESPN boasted a stronger game schedule this season. But if this new announce crew is so bad, then why are their numbers up double digits vs. last year's booth of Jon Gruden and Sean McDonough? Bottom Line: If Witten is going to take the heat, then the former Cowboys tight end should also get some credit for the improved TV numbers.

MORE: Why Cosell, Meredith and Gifford were a "perfect fit" on "Monday Night Football" 

2. Simulcast 'Monday Night Football' on ABC

If ESPN wants to get creative, it needs to do more than wheel out the "Booger Mobile." How about showing "Monday Night Football" on ESPN and sister Disney network ABC at the same time?

Think about it. The once-mighty "Monday Night Football" drew the smallest average viewership among the league's five main NFL TV packages in 2017, according to SportsBusiness Daily. Showing the game on both broadcast and cable would help zero out ESPN's subscriber losses in recent years. 

Because of cord-cutting, ESPN's footprint is down to about 86 million U.S. homes from a high of 100 million in 2011. Guess what? ABC's signal reaches more than 105 million U.S. TV homes. What's more, Disney is already planning a similar dual network strategy for the 2019 NFL Draft. The move would also boost the chances that ESPN could land a Super Bowl: the biggest missing ingredient in ESPN's current deal.

The league recently announced that ABC, ESPN and NFL Network will cover all three days of the April 25-27 Draft in Nashville, Tenn. Bringing the popular "College GameDay" team and ABC into the fold helped ESPN fight off an invading Fox Sports after only one season. It will give fickle viewers freedom of choice.

This April, you can watch ESPN's traditional coverage with Draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. Or Kirk Herbstreit and the gang from "College GameDay" on ABC. Or NFL Network, with Rich Eisen and Mike Mayock. 

So what's to stop NFL TV partners CBS, Fox and NBC from demanding that they get to simulcast their live game telecasts on their respective cable networks? Nothing. Maybe that's where the NFL is eventually heading.

The league already simulcasts most "Thursday Night Football" games on Fox and NFL Network (The league's 24/7 NFL Network also gets a package of seven exclusive games). Why not try a similar approach on Monday night?

But ESPN and Disney would have to swallow hard before crossing this Rubicon. It could hurt ESPN's consumer appeal -- and scare off subscribers.

The lure of "Monday Night Football" is one reason why ESPN charges the highest cable fees in the business. If fans can watch Monday Night for free on ABC, why pay for ESPN? 

The Worldwide Leader in Sports has enough issues with cord-cutting without exacerbating the problem. 

MORE: The 10 highest-rated "MNF" games of the ESPN era

3. Give ESPN flex scheduling

The gap between ESPN's "Monday Night Football" and NBC's "Sunday Night Football" has turned into a chasm since 2006. Why? Because NBC has flexible scheduling and ESPN doesn't.

ESPN pays $1.9 billion annually for "Monday Night Football" while NBC pays $950 million for Sunday night. If ESPN is going to pay twice what other TV partners pay, it should get some kind of flex scheduling.

Don't say it. We've heard the argument a million times: Flexible scheduling won't work on Monday Nights. It would force too many changes in team flights, hotel reservations, fan travel. 

But where's there's a will, there's a way. What if "MNF" were allowed to flex games in December when the playoffs are on the line, asked one TV insider?

Say ESPN was given three options, all Monday night games in December. With one caveat: ESPN had to make its picks by October. Instead of the typical 12 days notice when games are flexed, teams and fans would be informed a full month in advance that their games were moving to Monday night.

Too much? Well, what if the league gave ESPN just one flex for December? That would help ESPN and the league avoid dog games like the upcoming turkey bowl between the 3-11 Raiders and 6-8 Broncos on Christmas Eve. Even if ESPN got only one flex card to play, it would be better than the current set-up.

We also sounded out a league insider. Is it possible? Yes, he said. It might be doable if teams and fans got enough advance notice to adjust their plans. But it's not likely. The idea would have to be approved by the NFL's Competition and Broadcast Committees. The NFL would also have to do some fast talking with TV partners already resentful about the their best matchups being flexed to Sunday night. That's why CBS and Fox are allowed to protect a certain number of Sunday afternoon games per year.

So yes, it's a longshot. But isn't this what flex scheduling is supposed to be about? So the fans get to watch prime-time showdowns with playoff implications in December, rather than two losing teams playing out the string? 

4. Create multiple announce teams

The curse of "Monday Night Football" is that every announce team gets unfavorably compared to the late, legendary trio of Howard Cosell, Dandy Don Meredith and Frank Gifford. You either like or hate the current team. But you're stuck with them.

But what if ESPN offered you a menu of new ways to watch "Monday Night Football?" Say there was one announce team for ESPN, another for ABC, a third for streaming TV.

ESPN Deportes already has its own announce crew for "Monday Night Football." This is what Disney's planning for next year's NFL Draft, with the dual ABC/ESPN coverage. It would be similar to ESPN "MegaCast" approach to the College Football Playoff National Championship.

This year, ESPN offered viewers 20 different ways, across 11 different platforms, to enjoy Alabama's 26-23 overtime win over Georgia in the title game.

There was the traditional game coverage on ESPN with Herbstreit and Chris Fowler. But there was also the "Homers" telecast on ESPN2, featuring ex-Alabama star Landon Collins and former Georgia QB Aaron Murray.

There was the "Coaches Film Room" on ESPNEWS with coaches Mike Bobo, Pat Fitzgerald and Kevin Sumlin. And the popular "Finebaum Film Room," with Paul Finebaum and analysts Gene Chizik and Greg McElroy on SEC Network. 

It could have been a cacophonous mess. Instead, it worked wonders, as viewers jumped around networks and media platforms and sampled different announcers.

And it produced great TV moments, such as loyal Georgia native Elle Duncan ripping off her mic and stalking off the set in frustration after Crimson Tide freshman Tua Tagovailoa put a stake through the Bulldogs with a 41-yard TD pass in overtime.

Why not consider a similar same approach with "Monday Night Football?" 

I could see a "Coaches" version with ex-NFL head coaches Rex Ryan and John Fox. An "NFL Insiders" version with Adam Schefter, Josina Anderson and Dan Graziano behind the mics. And on and on.

ESPN has a virtual army of NFL announcers, analysts, insiders and ex-player/coaches marking time in Bristol who'd love to take a crack at the most famous series in sports TV.

Give them a chance. Who knows, ESPN might discover the next Cosell or Dandy Don.

5. Recall the 'Booger-Mobile'

It was a cute idea. It hasn't worked. Let's stop fooling around with the "Booger Mobile" and put McFarland where he belongs next season: in the booth alongside Witten and Joe Tessitore.

It would be a lot easier for this trio of Monday night rookies to develop chemistry if they could work side-by-side.

In some ways, ESPN put an unfair burden on Witten. Rather than adjusting to the normal two-person or three-person broadcast booth, he's had to deal with McFarland as the ghost in the machine, chiming in over his earpiece from different parts of the stadium.

Andrew Marchand of the New York Post reports the trio will, in fact, work a traditional booth together during the international broadcast of the Super Bowl. Is that the first step toward retiring the "Booger Mobile?" Fingers crossed.

You can bet spectators paying for expensive lower-bowl seats whose views are blocked by the contraption would thank ESPN. 

6. Don't make Witten a pitchman

Look, Witten is under enough pressure as a TV rookie working in the hot-house atmosphere of Monday night.

But to distract him even further, the sales team at ESPN came up with the brilliant idea of casting him and Tessitore in a live in-game ad for Old Spice's "Foam Zone" earlier this season.

It might have been Witten's most awkward 30 seconds of the season. And that's saying something. Take a look:

I'm not sure what was worse: the host calling Witten "J-Witt" or Witten's mechanical, "How does it feel Audrey?" question. Or that lost look between Witten and Tessitore as they tried to get through the pitch.

Memo to ESPN's marketing department: Witten is not Michael Jordan. He's not a NASCAR driver. Let him call the game. Save the commercials for commercial breaks. 

Speaking of bad product placements, remember when the "Monday Night Countdown" crew touted Applebee's boneless wings before a game in Buffalo? Yes, they picked the ancestral home of the chicken wing to plug Applebee's boneless wings.

As one reviewer wrote scathingly: "That's on par with going to Philadelphia and buying Steak-umm sandwiches rather than a Philly Cheesesteak."

7. If all else fails, bid on 'Sunday Night Football'

If you can't beat them, join them. Back in 2006, the NFL made "Sunday Night Football" its flagship prime time telecast. Not "Monday Night Football." Once NBC got the better game schedule, and flex scheduling, it was game, set match.

But money talks as always with the NFL. If Sunday night continues to be the only package with flex scheduling, then Disney/ESPN should consider bidding on "Sunday Night Football." while giving up "Monday Night Football."

Could ESPN nab Sunday night? That's questionable. You don't mess with success. The NFL loves that "Sunday Night Football" has ranked as the No. 1 show in prime time for a record seven years, beating every scripted drama, sitcom and reality show on TV.

The NFL also prefers free broadcast TV over pay cable. NBC's in 115 million homes vs. ESPN's 86 million.

There's no love lost between ESPN and NBC's respective parent companies, Disney and Comcast. 

Brian Roberts of Comcast launched a $54 billion hostile takeover bid for Michael Eisner's Disney (and ESPN) back in 2004. Could these two corporate giants square off again, this time over "Sunday Night Football?"

It would be a grudge match worthy of prime time. Stay tuned.

Michael McCarthy

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Michael McCarthy is an award-winning journalist who covers Sports Meda, Business and Marketing for Sporting News. McCarthy’s work has appeared in The New York Times, Sports Illustrated, The Wall Street Journal, CNBC.com, Newsday, USA TODAY and Adweek.