Welcome back to \u201cOn the Air,\u201d in which Sports Media Watch Podcast co-host Armand Broady will offer in-depth breakdowns of broadcasters, on-air performance and career journeys, plus chronicle broader trends in the industry.<\/p>\n
In a 2013 interview with Sports Illustrated, Chris Fowler \u2014 widely regarded as one of the best studio hosts in ESPN history \u2014 expressed his desire to become a full-time play-by-play announcer. The ESPN lifer who had masterfully steered \u201cCollege GameDay\u201d for more than 20 years felt he belonged in the broadcast booth.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think it is anything secret internally what I want the next [role] for me to be at ESPN,\u201d Fowler told then-SI reporter Richard Deitsch. \u201cI really have a passion to document live events as they happen. Hosting is wonderful and remains really satisfying, but the joy for me is calling big matches.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fowler\u2019s contract was expiring in July 2014, and he knew he had leverage. The network didn\u2019t want to lose a host of his stature, and its longtime college football play-by-play voice Brent Musburger was approaching 75 years old. In March 2014, Fowler was officially named ESPN\u2019s new lead college football play-by-play announcer.<\/p>\n
That promotion came at the expense of more accomplished play-by-play broadcasters. Brad Nessler, who had been with the company since the early 1990s and had called two BCS National Championship games for ABC Sports, was passed over. It is hard to imagine Nessler leaving for CBS Sports in 2016 had he been given the lead college football job at ESPN.<\/p>\n
Sean McDonough was also left standing on the doorstep. By the time of Fowler\u2019s ascension, McDonough had called a wide array of sports, including men\u2019s and women\u2019s college basketball, golf, U.S. Open Tennis and the Olympic Winter Games. But after a brief stint as the lead MLB voice for CBS in the early 1990s, which included calling two World Series, it seemed as if he would not get another shot at being lead announcer for a network property.<\/p>\n
That changed in 2016, when McDonough was named voice of ESPN \u201cMonday Night Football\u201d in the wake of Mike Tirico\u2019s departure to NBC Sports. While few questioned McDonough\u2019s qualifications for the role, his two years in the \u201cMNF\u201d booth were not well-received. Critics accused him of being dispassionate, flat and overly critical of officiating.<\/p>\n
McDonough agreed with many of the assessments.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I took my ego out of it and rationalized it, I really could be fine with not being the voice of \u2018MNF,\u2019 then it became easy,\u2019 McDonough said in a 2018 interview with WEEI. \u201cI love college football. For me, it\u2019s more fun, and that\u2019s a personal taste.\u201d<\/p>\n
During a 2021 interview with SI\u2019s Jimmy Traina, McDonough shared some insight into why his partnership with \u201cMNF\u201d analyst Jon Gruden fell flat.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think, to be totally candid, Jon Gruden enjoyed the X-and-O part of it,\u201d McDonough said. \u201cHe loved the telestrator. He told me when I first got the job, \u2018I don\u2019t like stories.\u2019 So he didn\u2019t want the stories and he didn\u2019t want to engage in conversation. There were times when I would ask him a question or make a point and he didn\u2019t respond, and I think it was just because he was so focused on, \u2018I\u2019m gonna dive into this play,\u2019 and he just didn\u2019t want to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sometimes the style of a certain announcer meshes with a particular sport. The failed \u201cMonday Night Football\u201d experience made it clear that McDonough belonged in a college football booth. What is also obvious to many sports media followers is that, when he returned to the sport in 2018, Sean McDonough reclaimed his position as ESPN\u2019s best college football announcer.<\/p>\n
Thursday\u2019s Sugar Bowl broadcast was another McDonough masterpiece. He calls games with a refreshing bluntness, unafraid to point out an egregious error and unwilling to sugarcoat. He called out the \u201cterrible \u201d clock management by Ole Miss at the end of the first half. And he openly questioned Georgia coach Kirby Smart\u2019s 4th quarter decision to go for it on 4th down from his own 33-yard line.<\/p>\n
McDonough\u2019s unique baritone roars through the screen, and his skillful use of voice inflection takes viewers on a ride with each big play.<\/p>\n
Georgia had the ball, trailing 34-31 with 3 minutes left in regulation. To keep its hopes alive, Georgia had to convert a 4th and 9.<\/p>\n
\u201cStockton \u2026 HAS BRANCH AT THE 35 YARD LINE! \u201d McDonough adroitly handles high pressure moments with passion and enthusiasm, while seamlessly weaving in anecdotes that introduce and humanize the game\u2019s participants.<\/p>\n
In the years since leaving \u201cMNF,\u201d McDonough has returned to a lead broadcast team \u2014 but on ESPN\u2019s NHL coverage. In that role, which he has held since ESPN resumed its NHL coverage in 2021, he brings the same level of timely enthusiasm. Fans still fondly remember his 2024 call of David Pastrnak\u2019s Game 7 overtime goal to defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs, as well as his spirited calls of Dallas Stars forward\u00a0Mikko Rantanen\u2019s hat trick to take down the Colorado Avalanche in last year\u2019s Stanley Cup Playoffs.<\/p>\n
Chris Fowler has been a staple of ESPN\u2019s college football coverage for more than 35 years, but Sean McDonough\u2019s play-by-play presentation \u2014 the booming voice, speech patterns, sentence structure and storytelling \u2014 makes him a more fitting lead voice. It is unfortunate that ESPN\u2019s best college football announcer may never get the chance to be its lead college football announcer.<\/p>\n
Plus: Why losing Matt Ryan to a front office role would hurt The NFL Today<\/p>\n