Tom Jackson Is Reportedly Leaving ESPN
Daily News- Tom Jackson, who spent 28 seasons as one of the most recognizable and insightful NFL studio analysts on television, likely will not return to ESPN’s “Sunday NFL Countdown,” the Daily News has learned. “He’s still weighing his options,” an NFL TV source said. “This will be Tommy’s call. It’s up to him. Tommy’s driving the train on this one. The situation is fluid.” The source said Jackson, 65, has been contemplating his TV future for quite awhile. Another industry source said the odds of Jackson returning to ESPN are long. “My guess is he is going to leave,” the source said. The sources could not confirm if ESPN brass wanted to remove Jackson from his “Sunday Countdown” post and asked him to move to another platform. Considering his stature at ESPN, and the respect and acclaim he has received, it stands to reason he could be given a role on another ESPN NFL show.
By the end of last season, ESPN parted ways with Mike Ditka (he remains with ESPN in a limited capacity), Cris Carter, and Keyshawn Johnson. And following the 2016 season, according to reports, Chris Berman, the long-time host of “Countdown,” will retire. Berman, through his agent, denied those reports.
Damn man, ESPN is really looking to neuter Chris Berman, huh? It’s one thing is to take away his laugh track. It’s quite another to take away his goddamn road dogg. I feel like Boomer could post up at any bar across America and act however he wanted because he had TJ as his enforcer probably sitting in the corner with a leather jacket and sunglasses on. Boomer and TJ was the closest thing we had to a buddy cop show while watching NFL highlights.
And yes I know it says that this is Jackson’s decision. But that never seems to be the real story with these media personalities. Chris Berman must feel like the Banker from Boston that has almost made it to the end of the Oregon Trail, but everyone else in his party died of typhoid along the way.
You cannot tell me that dinosaur isn’t a Chris Berman doppelganger.
However I will say that back in its glory days, nothing was better than NFL Primetime. It was the best and I think only place to get a full slate of highlights from Sunday’s games as Boomer and TJ chopped it up. And that music. By God, that music. I still catch feelings every time I listen to those wonderful songs. You can almost hear Chris Berman saying “WOOOOP” while Tom Jackson says “Yeah Chris, moves like that make (Insert Player’s Name Here) one of the most exciting players in the National Football League”. Even if Berman stays, this news means that part of our childhood died.
Also I’d be remiss not to mention one of the biggest “Blow up in your face” quotes ever, when Tom Jackson said the Patriots hated Bill Belichick right before birthing a dynasty right in his eyeball. If we are being honest, this quote should probably go on TJ’s tombstone.