FOX Broadcaster Publicly Sends Message on Replacing Troy Aikman, Throws a Wrench in Colleague’s Plan
from NFL Insider/Essentially Pro Football
NFL legends seem to be coming for Troy Aikman’s job, but only if ESPN decides to part ways with the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback. Ever since his reported feud with Joe Buck came to light, multiple high-profile names have reportedly emerged as potential replacements, especially with Aikman entering the final year of his current deal and ESPN yet to extend his contract.
So far, former Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen has emerged as a top candidate, while Tony Romo, Travis Kelce, and Sean McVay have also dominated the headlines. Now, another Super Bowl-winning former quarterback has expressed interest in replacing Aikman at ESPN’s Monday Night Football following the 2026 season. We’re talking about former New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees.
Brees recently sat down with Front Office Sports’ Baker Machado, who asked whether he would be interested in joining ESPN’s Monday Night Football booth if Aikman leaves the network after next year’s Super Bowl. Without a second thought, Brees said:
“Of course.”
Brees went on to explain how he aspires to become a great broadcaster after his initial stint with NBC didn’t turn out very well before FOX gave him another chance during the 2025 season.
“At the end of the day, I aspire to be the best at what I’m pursuing. I love broadcasting and I love my team. And I love being able to broadcast games every week,” he added. “For example, this week, we’re broadcasting Vikings-Packers. The Packers are one of the most explosive offenses in football right now. I love the fact that I’ll get a chance to dive into watching [Packers QB] Jordan Love, [coach] Matt LaFleur and that whole offense.
“Look, they struggled early on in the season. Now they’ve kind of turned the corner. The Vikings are reeling a little bit. Trying to figure it out on offense. We get to dive in and identify what the solutions could be. The [Vikings] defense is lights out. What a great matchup that’s going to be. I get to be in the shoes of both. Again, that’s what I love every week is the opportunity to talk about it, communicate it. But we’re all aspiring to be the best that we can be at it.”
Drew Brees has the pedigree to replace Troy Aikman at MNF if we consider his resume. A Hall of Fame quarterback, Brees has won a Super Bowl with the Saints; he is second all-time in career passing yards, career touchdown passes, and career pass completions, and has earned Super Bowl MVP and 13 Pro Bowl honors.
However, it’s his brief broadcasting career that may raise some eyebrows after he expressed interest in replacing Aikman at ESPN.
Following his retirement from the NFL, Brees joined NBC in 2021. The original plan for Brees was substantial: he would be a studio analyst on Football Night in America, a game analyst for Notre Dame football, and contribute to major NBC events including the Olympics and Super Bowl LVI. And while his first season had some good moments, his NFL game work was heavily criticized.
Brees and Mike Tirico called the Raiders-Bengals Wild Card game following the 2021 regular season. That broadcast, however, received significant criticism. Following the season, NBC and Brees parted ways, with the ex-Saints quarterback acknowledging his desire to spend more time with his family as the major reason for leaving NBC.
The criticism did not mean Brees immediately abandoned broadcasting, though. He made a return to ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown during the 2024 season, where he got another opportunity to work in front of an NFL audience. His studio appearances gave viewers a chance to see a more relaxed side of him than the one that had struggled to connect during his NBC game assignments. He also began speaking more openly about his ambitions, insisting that he could become one of the best broadcasters in the business if given enough opportunities.
While he made occasional broadcasting appearances, FOX gave him his big break when the network signed him as an NFL game analyst for the remainder of the 2025 season after he joined Adam Amin in the booth, with Kristina Pink as the sideline reporter. His debut came in Week 11. Subsequently, FOX decided to make Brees a full-time member of its 2026 NFL lineup.
His return to the booth came sooner than initially expected. Brees had also been lined up for Netflix’s Christmas Day NFL coverage in 2025, but FOX’s need for a replacement following Mark Sanchez’s departure opened up a regular-season opportunity. Sanchez had been arrested following an altercation with a truck driver in Indianapolis, and FOX turned to Brees to fill the vacancy. What began as an opportunity for the remainder of the season eventually developed into a full-time broadcasting role.
Now, the former quarterback works alongside Amin and Pink on the network’s No. 3 team. They rank behind Greg Olsen, Joe Davis, and Pam Oliver’s No. 2 team, as well as the network’s No. 1 team, headlined by Tom Brady, Kevin Burkhardt, Erin Andrews, and Tom Rinaldi.
Brees has been appreciative of FOX giving him another opportunity, particularly after his difficult NBC experience. However, he has not hidden his ambitions for a bigger role. Speaking to Machado, he said, “I would love to. That’s my goal and aspiration, and that’s what I’m working towards. Every week, I feel like it’s getting better and better and more comfortable.” He also spoke about his preparation, explaining that he studies film from both sides of the ball, develops his own approach to a matchup, and speaks with coaches and key players before each broadcast.
“You always feel like you’re staying ahead of the curve. You know what’s coming. You see the evolution of the game,” Brees added.
He has also been generous in his assessment of the very broadcasting partnership he could potentially break up. Brees said he enjoys watching Aikman and Buck on Monday Night Football, describing them as two of the “best in the business.” That makes his interest less about wanting to displace either broadcaster personally and more about pursuing the opportunity if the analyst position becomes available.
But at the same time, if Brees has his sights set on replacing Aikman, it could create a problem for his FOX colleague, Greg Olsen, who currently works on the network’s No. 2 team but is looking to return to the No. 1 booth. Considering Olsen is also in the final year of his contract with FOX, he has been viewed as a potential replacement for Aikman if ESPN ultimately decides to part ways with the former Cowboys quarterback.
Olsen joined FOX following Troy Aikman and Joe Buck’s departure from the network in 2022. Subsequently, FOX paired Olsen with Burkhardt, as the duo went on to call the Super Bowl a year later. In 2024, however, Olsen was demoted to FOX’s No. 2 team after the network brought Tom Brady on a 10-year, $375 million deal and paired him alongside Burkhardt. Since then, Olsen is looking to return to the No. 1 team.
There is more to Olsen’s ESPN connection than just his current contract situation. He actually had advanced discussions about joining ESPN’s Monday Night Football booth back in 2018, when the network was looking for an analyst to work alongside its play-by-play team. Olsen ultimately chose to return to the Carolina Panthers instead, with ESPN turning to Jason Witten for the role. That earlier interest is another reason his name has resurfaced now that Aikman’s future is uncertain.
Olsen’s work since losing the top FOX assignment has also strengthened his case. He continued to receive industry recognition alongside Joe Davis and even beat Tom Brady for a Sports Emmy, despite working on the network’s secondary team. He has also been open about wanting to return to the top booth. In August, FOX analyst and reporter Greg Olsen made it clear that his professional ambitions had not changed, even as he continued to speak positively about his relationship with the network.
His current contract situation adds another layer. FOX reportedly has not held extension negotiations with Olsen, whose deal expires after the 2026 season. Puck’s John Ourand has also reported that Olsen has an opt-out clause that could allow him to leave if another network offers him a No. 1 analyst position. ESPN would therefore have a relatively straightforward opportunity to pursue him if Aikman does not return. According to The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand, Olsen is widely viewed within the industry as a frontrunner for the job.
There is also a recent example of how carefully Olsen is managing his public standing as he enters this potentially important period in his career. During FOX’s broadcast of the Giants’ 19-11 win over the Eagles, Olsen and play-by-play partner Joe Davis discussed Malik Nabers’ body language after the receiver showed visible frustration during the game. Davis described it as “terrible,” while Olsen added that “it’s just not good.” Olsen went on to explain that while great receivers are often demanding, there is a fine line between being competitive and allowing frustration to overshadow a teammate’s success.
The comments became a talking point after Nabers took to Instagram, accusing the broadcast of trying to create a narrative about him and claiming Olsen had called him a bad teammate. However, Olsen had not actually used those words. He responded on X, sharing footage of his commentary and writing, “At no point did we ever say he was a bad teammate. Hopefully @nypost and @USATODAY will adjust their stories.”
Nabers subsequently reiterated his objections during a press conference, saying he felt the coverage had attacked his character.
While the incident has little bearing on Olsen’s actual qualifications for ESPN, it does show that he is comfortable addressing controversies surrounding his work directly rather than allowing inaccurate attributions to go unanswered. That is particularly relevant for someone operating in the highly visible No. 2 booth and potentially positioning himself for an even bigger assignment.
Brees, meanwhile, has a different challenge. His Hall of Fame résumé and Super Bowl-winning experience are unquestionable, but his broadcasting development has not yet matched the reputation he built on the field. Olsen has already spent two seasons as a network’s lead analyst, called a Super Bowl and established chemistry with two prominent play-by-play broadcasters. Brees is still working to establish himself in FOX’s third booth. That does not rule him out, but it does make Olsen the more proven option if ESPN wants someone ready to take over immediately.
The competition for Aikman’s position could extend beyond the two FOX colleagues, too. Tony Romo is now a broadcasting free agent after parting ways with CBS on October 2, while Peyton Manning remains a particularly attractive possibility for ESPN. Andrew Marchand has reported that Manning could be the network’s preferred target, although convincing him to take on the travel and weekly commitments of a traditional NFL booth is another matter. Travis Kelce and Sean McVay have also been mentioned among the potential names.
And now that he is entering the final year of his deal, he’s expected to replace Aikman. For that, though, it remains to be seen whether ESPN will decide to sign Aikman amid his tension with Buck or let him go following the Super Bowl in February 2027.
There is, however, a small development worth keeping in mind before treating Aikman’s departure as a certainty. During the November 9 Bills-Vikings broadcast, Aikman joked about Justin Jefferson’s expensive diamond chains, saying he might buy something similar “if somebody would loan me some money.” The remark drew attention because of Buck’s recently reported $108 million ESPN extension and Aikman’s own unresolved contract situation. Buck laughed along, but the exchange does not establish whether their reported disagreement has been resolved.
For Brees, the opportunity would represent a major step forward in a broadcasting career he has worked hard to revive. For Olsen, it could be the opening he has been waiting for since Brady’s arrival changed FOX’s hierarchy. But if ESPN is looking for an analyst who has already handled a Super Bowl and demonstrated that he can lead a major NFL broadcast, Olsen currently has the stronger case.