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ESPN eyes Manning, others as Gruden replacement on MNF

By The Sports Xchange
Former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning is among the finalists for the available Monday Night Football color analyst position. Photo by Eric Bakke/UPI
Former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning is among the finalists for the available Monday Night Football color analyst position. Photo by Eric Bakke/UPI | License Photo

Peyton Manning is not a hard man to find on television, as the former NFL quarterback seemingly has pitched everything under the sun in terms of commercials.

ESPN would like to add to Manning's already blinding visibility and plans to contact him for the analyst job for its Monday Night Football telecasts. The position is vacant after Jon Gruden elected to return to the NFL as coach of the Oakland Raiders.

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"We like Peyton Manning," ESPN executive Stephanie Druley told SI.com. "And we would be foolish not to talk him."

Manning is a five-time NFL MVP and two-time Super Bowl champion who retired after the 2015 season.

The 41-year-old Manning walked away from the NFL as the league's all-time passing leader with 71,940 yards and 539 touchdown passes. He won two championship rings -- one with the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLI and another with the Denver Broncos during his final season in Super Bowl 50.

Druley admitted that ESPN has begun its search for the replacement of Gruden, who served as an analyst on Monday Night Football for nine seasons overall -- and the last two with play-by-play broadcaster Sean McDonough.

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"We want someone who loves the game, who is a student of the game but who has a personality as well," Druley said. "We want them to have interests outside of football and the ability to connect with the viewers. We talk often about how a broadcast should personalize and analyze--and I think we need to do more of that in the MNF booth."

Former NFL quarterback-turned-analyst Matt Hasselbeck will call the Pro Bowl for ESPN on Sunday.

"We are considering Matt, for sure," Druley said. "I would not consider the Pro Bowl an audition per se. When we hired Matt a few years ago there were other networks that wanted Matt as a game analyst. I expect Matt to be very good this and he will certainly be considered."

Hasselbeck will join McDonough as well as sideline reporter Lisa Salters for the game on Sunday.

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