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Chris Berman

Chris Berman making 'NFL Primetime' return after NFL conference championships

A.J. Perez
USA TODAY

Chris Berman, known for his bluster and catchphrases, succinctly recapped what he’s seen both ESPN and the NFL endure in the nearly 12 months since he transitioned from his regular hosting roles at the network. 

Chris Berman (left) hangs out in the ESPN studio in Bristol, Conn., with Tom Jackson in 2016.

“The NFL and ESPN have had different years,” Berman told USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday. 

The NFL has been a target of President Trump for its handling of player protests during the national anthem to draw attention to social justice issues and police brutality, and critics who have celebrated the league’s dip in ratings.

ESPN, meanwhile, has had layoffs, its own battle with Trump that arose over tweets from SportsCenter host Jemele Hill and the surprising resignation of John Skipper, the network’s president, in December.   

Despite some setbacks, both entities remain dominant in the U.S. sports landscape and a little reminder of that won’t hurt. Maybe that’s why Berman seems so eager to rejoin his longtime broadcast partner and former NFL linebacker Tom Jackson in a special NFL Primetime on ESPN after this Sunday’s conference title games. Keyshawn Johnson, a regular analyst on ESPN’s studio shows, also will be part of the broadcast that will begin around 10 p.m. ET. 

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“Over the last couple of weeks, we are talking about football on Mondays, not who stood and who didn’t stand,” Berman said. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but people are saying, ‘Did you see that play at the end of Saints-Vikings game? Did you see Tennessee come back from being down 21-3? Did you catch Jacksonville and Pittsburgh? Can you believe Atlanta was at the 2 and couldn’t convert?

“That’s what people were talking about the next day and not, ‘Here’s what the president said. What do you think?' It took all year to get here and finally we are talking football.”

It was announced last January — the same time Berman signed a multiyear extension at ESPN, a network he started at a month after it launched in 1979 — that Berman would no longer do his regular hosting duties for NFL (both weekly during the season and the draft) and MLB’s Home Run Derby. 

Berman’s shift came amid other major changes at the network, which still are ongoing as ESPN searches for a new president to replace Skipper. 

“They are still my colleagues,” the 62-year-old Berman said. “We helped build that place into one of the best places to work by far. It’s not all doom and gloom. People turn to us and hopefully they always will. ... It hurts a little (to see the criticism). ESPN still has the best people. They are going through an adjustment, like everyone is right now.” 

He was quick to point out that he’s still a full-timer, although the hours aren’t nearly as grueling as he focuses on weekly features for Monday Night Countdown (“Boomer’s Vault”) and calling MLB playoff games on ESPN Radio, among other responsibilities. The transition professionally came as he was forced to deal with the tragic loss of his wife, Kathy, who was killed in a car accident in May. 

“I miss the action and the interaction with my teammates,” Berman said. “I miss the job, but I had prepared for it for a lifetime. We agreed together it was time. It was weird. I had to order Sunday Ticket. ... I still kept in touch with lot of friends in the business. 

“We were fans of football before we did this as a professional. Starting in September, I remember why I fell in love with the game when I was 10 or 12 and through my college years before I spent nearly 40 straight years of Sundays working (during the NFL season).”

Berman also attended his first regular season Sunday game in decades as he took in the Seattle Seahawks-Jacksonville Jaguars game last month, which included Seahawks defensive lineman Quinton Jefferson attempting to climb into the stands to confront a fan who had thrown a drink at Jefferson. 

“He wasn’t coming after me,” Berman quipped. 

Berman worked alongside Jackson for 29 years, although Sunday will be the first time the two have done a show together since 2015. Berman expects the same chemistry, which should also be on display when the two do a post-Super Bowl NFL Primetime — with analysts Randy Moss and Steve Young — after the big game on Feb. 4. 

“I haven’t ridden a bike for a while, but I’ve learned how to at 7,” Berman said. “I called him after the third quarter of the Falcons-Eagles game on Saturday. We didn’t plan on it, but it was like we were right next to each other. It was just like we were back in the studio. I told him after the game, ‘Do you know what we just did?' ... It was like a dry run.”

Follow USA TODAY Sports' A.J. Perez on Twitter @byajperez.

 

 

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