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Joe Buck on Why Fox Let Him Go to ESPN, Differences Between Fox and ESPN

Also in Traina Thoughts: Trailer drops for ’80 for Brady,’ Mike McDaniel and Tua have funny exchange; Daniel Jones’s nickname and much more.

Jimmy Traina

1. Longtime play-by-play caller Joe Buck opened up about his first year calling Monday Night Football (and many other topics) on the latest episode of the SI Media Podcast.

After a wild NFL offseason that saw major changes in the broadcasting world, there probably wasn’t a more shocking move than Buck and partner, Troy Aikman, joining ESPN after calling games together for 20 years at Fox.

With Buck now having been at ESPN for eight months and having called Monday Night Football for three months, he reflected on why he thinks the move happened and revealed what’s different about working at ESPN as opposed to Fox.

Joe Buck: You said Fox was “dumb enough,” earlier to let Troy and me leave. I just think on some level, this is kind of what they wanted. I think when there was a crack in this relationship.

Sports Illustrated: But why?

JB: I think you’ve got new people in charge there, relatively. And I think it’s human nature to want to put your fingerprints and mold the broadcast as the boss the way you want to mold it. I was hired by David Hill and Ed Goren, and I go back to 1994 and Troy, people talk about how long I was there, Troy was at Fox for 21 years, and we both date back to a different regime.

And so Eric Shanks has been the conduit from those days to now. But other people are in charge there as well, and they wanted a refresh. And they wanted a broadcast that reflected them a little bit and a fresh start.

SI: Does that hurt you?

JB: I understand it. I think that’s human nature. It was kind of like, “You wanna go, go. We’ll live; we’ll do this the way we want to do it now. You’re the Hill-Goren guys.” And so I’m where I should be and I think ESPN was excited to bring those 20 years to their booth. And I think Fox was excited to start over and mold something different that didn’t involve me, and I’m good with that.

SI: Does ESPN ever tell you how thrilled they are?

JB: Now that’s different. I’m not used to that. And that’s what I was going to say earlier about Troy, when I said I’ll tell you what I think about Troy when all that was going down. Troy heard for the first time that people liked what he did and thought he was good and the same kind of thing happened to me. Not to be a baby about it but to go to a new place and have bosses go, “Oh my God, this is everything we hoped it would be.” Like we talked about, this has been a good starting year. It’s gonna take off next year with the flex scheduling. It’s gonna have an even bigger feel to it. But yeah to be at a place where you’ve got the top man on down, talking about Jimmy Pitaro and people below … the feedback has been just awesome, so you feel appreciated. It’s baby stuff to talk about that, but they appreciate you by the check they write. I’m old enough to know that, but it’s also nice to get a pat on the back and hear, Hey we’re glad you’re here.

Buck shared his thoughts on a slew of other topics over the course of his appearance on the SI Media Podcast including:

• Differences between calling games on Sunday afternoon and Monday night.

• Whether he missed calling the World Series this year.

• Whether he was aware that many fans missed him on postseason baseball coverage.

• A funny encounter with Tony Romo.

• Whether Tom Brady will ever call an NFL game for Fox.

• The fascination fans have with broadcasters.

• Al Michaels mocking terrible Thursday Night Football games.

• Baseball fans being rougher on him than football fans.

• Being home on Thanksgiving for the first time in 20-plus years. 

You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Google.

You can also watch the SI Media Podcast on YouTube.

2. Great stuff here from my favorite NFL coach, Mike McDaniel, and Tua Tagovailoa, especially the QB calling his head coach “Mystic Mac.”

3. The trailer dropped today for 80 for Brady, the upcoming movie based on a true story about four girlfriends in their 80s, played by Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Sally Field and Rita Moreno, who travel to the 2017 Super Bowl to see Tom Brady.

4. I had no idea that Daniel Jones’s nickname was “Vanilla Vick,” but now I know this is a thing thanks to Saquon Barkley.

5. I also found out today what this tweet, from Ja Morant to Charles Barkley, meant, but I can’t write it on SI.com.

6. Don’t let anybody tell you differently. Streaming deals in sports mean one thing: Pay. Pay a lot. 

If you’re an MLS fan, get ready to shell out the cash to watch the league on Apple TV+.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Today is Danny DeVito’s 78th birthday. If you’re young, you associate him first with It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. If you're old, like me, you associate him first with Taxi. His performance in that series was beyond brilliant. Here is my favorite Louie De Palma–Danny Devito scene.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.

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Jimmy Traina
JIMMY TRAINA

Jimmy Traina is a staff writer and podcast host for Sports Illustrated. A 20-year veteran in the industry, he’s been covering the sports media landscape for seven years and writes a daily column, Traina Thoughts. Traina has hosted the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast since 2018, a show known for interviews with some of the most important and powerful people in sports media. He also was the creator and writer of SI’s Hot Clicks feature from 2007 to '13.

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