Sportscaster Al Michaels is out of the booth for NBC’s NFL playoff coverage.
NBC Sports Vice President Greg Hughes confirmed that Michaels would not be part of the network’s playoff broadcasts this postseason, the New York Post reported. NBC will televise three playoff games in January.
Michaels, 79, and former head coach Tony Dungy were criticized for a lack of enthusiasm when they called a playoff game last season when the Jacksonville Jaguars came from behind to beat the Los Angeles Chargers, the Post noted.
Sportscasters Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth from “Sunday Night Football” are set to call two of NBC’s playoff games, while the third will be crewed by NBC’s top college team, Noah Eagle and Todd Blackledge, along with sideline reporter Kathryn Tappen, the Post noted.
From @TheAthletic: NFL broadcasts will be without Al Michaels’ classic commentary voice for this season’s playoffs. Michaels, 79, has called 11 Super Bowls. https://t.co/mHN9ryU7Mz
— The New York Times (@nytimes) December 13, 2023
Michaels was a staple of ABC’s “Monday Night Football” coverage and then later on NBC for its football coverage. More recently, he took over doing play-by-play announcing when pro-football moved to Amazon Prime Video for “Thursday Night Football.”
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The move reportedly had been in the works for a while, the Post noted. However, when Michaels was asked about the possibility in November, he referenced his contract.
“It’s in my deal,” Michaels told the Post. “Where are you hearing that from? That’s part of my deal. Are you hearing something that I’m not hearing?”
NBC previously replaced Michaels on “Sunday Night Football” with Tirico.
Michaels is now tied with the late-former legendary sportscaster Pat Summerall for calling 11 Super Bowls on TV.
The sportscaster is known for some legendary sports calls, including his historic “Miracle on Ice” at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid in 1980, when the U.S. Olympic hockey team shocked the world and defeated the Soviet Union.
“Do you believe in miracles? Yes!” Michaels said.