ESPN is promoting Dan Orlovsky to the network’s No. 2 NFL announcing booth, according to a report from Andrew Marchand of the New York Post.
Orlovsky will join Steve Levy and Louis Riddick Jr. in the booth as he replaces Brian Griese, whose contract was up with ESPN. Griese is now the 49ers quarterback coach under Kyle Shanahan.
ESPN’s No. 1 announcing team is newly-acquired Joe Buck and Troy Aikman from Fox, who will be regularly calling Monday Night Football games beginning this season.
Orlovsky will join Levy and Riddick for a handful of games this year, before the network begins calling five additional games per season beginning in 2023. Per the report from Marchand, Levy and Riddick also received contract extensions to remain in the booth.
ESPN’s re-signing of Orlovsky is significant, as he has emerged as one of the top NFL analysts for the network. Orlovsky calls college football games in the fall, and has been a staple on ESPN’s daily programming covering the NFL since 2018.
The 38-year-old was pursued by Fox Sports where he would have led a five-day-a-week NFL show and would have called games for the network on Sundays. However, Orlovsky was not a candidate for the top color commentating role at the network alongside Kevin Burkhardt.
According to the Post, Greg Olsen seems to be the leading candidate to be Burkhardt’s partner, and Fox announced that Tom Brady would step in next to Burkhardt once he officially retires.
Orlovsky’s first game alongside Levy and Riddick will be on Monday Night Football in Week 2 of the upcoming season. ESPN is hosting a doubleheader, and it is expected that Buck and Aikman will call Titans-Bills on ESPN, while Levy, Riddick and Orlovsky cover Vikings-Eagles on ABC.
