ESPN recently fired longtime “Sunday NFL Countdown” host Sam Ponder, and the network is replacing her with a familiar face.
Mike Greenberg will be the new host of “Sunday NFL Countdown” for the 2024 season, Andrew Marchand of The Athletic reports.
Greenberg is the host of ESPN’s daily “Get Up” morning program in addition to having his radio show. Marchand notes that the 57-year-old is a favorite of ESPN executives, and Ponder was let go in part because the plan was to have Greenberg take over her old role.
Laura Rutledge, who hosts ESPN’s daily “NFL Live” show, also received consideration for the “Sunday NFL Countdown” job. She was also viewed as a candidate to become the host of the “Monday Night Football” pregame show last year before ESPN gave that job to Scott Van Pelt.
Greenberg will host “Sunday NFL Countdown” alongside Randy Moss, Tedy Bruschi, Rex Ryan and Alex Smith. Adam Schefter will continue to serve as the program’s top NFL reporter.
The expectation is that Greenberg will remain in the “Sunday NFL Countdown” host role for several years, as Marchand says ESPN/ABC is looking to position itself in the best way possible to host the network’s first Super Bowl in 2027.
Ponder’s only real role with ESPN was as the host of “Sunday NFL Countdown,” so her firing makes more sense if network executives wanted Greenberg to take over that job. Though, there has been another popular theory floating around about why Ponder was fired.
