When Dan Patrick reunited with Keith Olbermann for the 40th anniversary of their old SportsCenter in late 2019, he apparently did more on the ESPN campus than just bring back “The Big Show.”

Nearly seven years later, Patrick has revealed a conversation he staged with Jimmy Pitaro, then the recently hired new president of ESPN, about the legendary Chris Berman.

While interviewing ESPN’s Booger McFarland on Thursday on The Dan Patrick Show, Patrick detailed how he helped grease the wheels for the return of NFL Primetime, which McFarland is slated to co-host alongside Berman this Sunday night on ESPN.

“I’m glad that they brought (Berman) back. I actually went to management. I went to Jimmy Pitaro, and I said, ‘You’ve gotta bring Chris back,’” Patrick said.

The former television and radio host for the Worldwide Leader went on to say that he felt Berman was “disappearing” from ESPN airwaves despite having the appetite to continue working. And shortly after, ESPN relaunched the full, weekly edition of Primetime on ESPN+, with McFarland replacing Tom Jackson one year later.

“And to Jimmy’s credit, he did bring Chris back,” Patrick explained. “Because I said, ‘He is NFL Primetime. There’s nobody else that should be doing that. He’s got the energy to be doing it.’ And when I went back for the anniversary, I did talk to (Pitaro), and I said, ‘It would mean the world.’ I didn’t want Chris to disappear, and I thought he was disappearing. And he meant too much to the place.”

The timing here would suggest Patrick’s request of Pitaro was for a move that was already in motion. Patrick hosted the “Big Show” reunion on SportsCenter the first week of September 2019; ESPN announced the relaunch of Primetime a week later.

So either Patrick gave Pitaro and Co. quite a kick in the pants to bring back an ESPN legend, or the company had already made the determination to bring Berman back on air before Patrick’s plea.

Beyond giving Berman his classic show back (with a contract recently extended through 2029), Patrick believes the company should do even more to honor its icons.

“He’s the most important person who’s ever walked in that building,” Patrick said of Berman. “And I said, name a building, have a statue, whatever. Just don’t forget him. Him and Bob Ley, Tom Mees, never forget them. They might disappear from the public eye, but I just didn’t want that to happen to Chris. Because in large part, I got my opportunity because I wanted to be there. I wanted to be in that environment, and Chris created that environment.”

With SportsCenter no longer the most prolific show the network airs and much of the first generation of ESPN stars departing into retirement, Patrick raises a fair point. The network has done a much better job in recent years of allowing legends like Berman, Lee Corso and Hubie Brown to work until they choose to end their careers, but must also consider how to honor these beloved broadcasters in the long run.