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Troy Aikman replacements for ESPN: Ranking 8 best candidates to join Joe Buck on 'Monday Night Football'
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Troy Aikman replacements for ESPN: Ranking 8 best candidates to join Joe Buck on 'Monday Night Football' originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
With every "Monday Night Football" game during the 2026 NFL regular season leading up to ESPN/ABC's Super Bowl 61 broadcast on Feb. 14, the tension keeps building between long-time broadcast booth partners Troy Aikman and Joe Buck.
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With Buck already getting his contract extension from the network in September, it's evident Aikman will not be signed to a new deal. That's strained the relationship to the point that if there's no imminent breakup come Valentine's Day, it would be shocking.
ESPN has plenty of options to consider when replacing him, from in-house to the other major NFL game-covering networks. Here's ranking eight of them, in order from the surprise best to the absolute worst:
MORE: Troy Aikman's five best landing spots for next season
Sean McVay
Ron Chenoy/Imagn Images via Reuters Connect
1. Luke Kuechly
The former Panthers superstar linebacker turned newly minted Pro Football Hall of Famer should get more buzz after splashing with Noah Eagles for the 49ers-Rams battle in Australia in Week 1. The lead Netflix analyst was superb with his live game breakdown and his overall presentation. He also would be a natural (relative) free agent to target, a rising star to pair with the well-seasoned Buck.
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2. Greg Olsen
Olsen had to be disappointed losing the Fox No. 1 job to Tom Brady after he did so well with Kevin Burkhardt in the wake of Buck-Aikman leaving the network. Olsen has delivered the same level of game-calling with new partner Joe Davis. Olsen combines good insight while relating a player's perspective well to fans. Fox likely will do a lot to keep him as the ace second-teamer but Olsen also may want the obvious more prominent big-game role.
3. Travis Kelce
Much like Brady, Kelce will be an immediate desired choice for the booth whenever he retires. The Chiefs ' future Hall of Fame tight end, however, has had a resurgence in the Chiefs' new explosive offense and isn't a lock to call it quits on the field ahead of next season. The 37-year-old may also want to hang it up to settle more into family life with wife Taylor Swift. Should Kelce ride into the sunset, he may end up doing a lot of Chiefs games on MNF soon.
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4. Sean McVay
The Rams have the kind of miserable, disappointing season that would set up the right time for McVay to exit NFL coaching. McVay has had some rough, unhappy moments with his team losing more than expected so far and this year marks a decade at the helm in Los Angeles. McVay turns 41 in January and can't be ruled out to pull a John Madden or Jon Gruden and leave the sidelines early to avoid burnout. Like those two, McVay already has his one Super Bowl ring to show for his wunderkind career. He also has the potential to be a bigger star on television while also being able to show off all of his football savantism.
5. Kurt Warner
Warner would be an interesting underrated choice given ESPN mashing up with NFL Network. He is solid on the international broadcasts with his smarts and humor. He also is very likeable and few know more about breaking down quarterback play. Warner and Buck would be a good St. Louis reunion, suggesting they could develop strong chemistry quickly.
Jason Kelce 080126 IMAGN
Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
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6. Jason Kelce
Kelce is getting warmed up well with Warner and Dave Pasch. He's still learning the right tone, verbiage and presentation to make the smooth transition from studio analyst and top podcaster. The football intelligence is definitely there and there are raw elements to say Travis' brother can be right for MNF in the long term.
248. Tony Romo
We're using Romo's career touchdown pass total to say ESPN should pass on giving Romo his rebound opportunity. Some if it has to do with his need for an off-field reset after the DUI arrest that led to his break up with Jim Nantz and CBS. More of it has to do with the fact he started fading hard as a color commentator, going from hyper Nostradamus to annoying overall delivery. Given how well J.J. Watt has done right away with the upgrade to No. 1, CBS is doing just fine without him doing NFL games.
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26,653. Pat McAfee
We're using McAfee's caeeer punting yards to say please, ESPN, don't do this. He's kind of just OK on College GameDay because he can be loudmouth goofball combining the right dash of needed expertise on a pregame show that requires a high level of entertainment.
Sure, MNF falls into prime time competing with shows about the FBI and CIA on CBS ... called FBI and CIA. It also needs a good enough voice to draw viewers away from ... "The Voice" on NBC. Oh wait, MNF also competes with WWE Raw on Netflix? Doesn't McAfee really want to be on that show more?
Does he really want to be in broadcast booth that requires him to trade a A-shirt for a suit? Do we really want to see how Buck reacts to someone vaping next to him?
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ESPN is paying a ton combined to McAfee, Buck and Stephen A. Smith (who would be somewhere No. Million on this list, somwhere between Kanye West and Shane Gillis), but that doesn't mean they need put these dudes on everything, do they? If McAfee gets on teh MNF main brodcast, let's hope there's a "ManningCast" every Monday going forward.
