Michael Irvin has been sitting in NFL television limbo for no good reason. Irvin has not graced an NFL Network broadcast since last year’s Super Bowl in Arizona when he was accused of saying something inappropriate to a hotel worker during his off-hours. The Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver and three-time Super Bowl champion joined NFL Network as an analyst in 2009.
Ironically, his analyst bio on the NFL Network website still stands and says that he “can be seen every Sunday morning on NFL Network’s Emmy-nominated NFL GameDay Morning, along with Rich Eisen, Steve Mariucci, Kurt Warner, Ian Rapoport, Cynthia Frelund and Rachel Bonnetta.”
However, when the latest press release about “NFL GameDay Morning” came out, one prominent name was left out: the Play Maker’s.
Instead, the NFL used the announcement to highlight the addition of former All-Pro defensive tackle Gerald McCoy. He now will appear regularly on NFL Network’s “NFL GameDay Morning” with Rich Eisen, Kurt Warner, Steve Mariucci, Cynthia Frelund, Ian Rapoport, Mike Garafolo, Tom Pelissero, and Kimmi Chex.
NFL Keeps It Pushing
Pointing out the snub of Irvin is no slight on McCoy’s ability to contribute as an analyst. He was the third overall pick in the 2010 NFL draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and played 11 seasons in the NFL. After nine seasons with the Buccaneers, the six-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle spent one season each with the Carolina Panthers and Las Vegas Raiders before announcing his retirement in April 2023.
McCoy was one of six new faces that will appear on various NFL Network studio shows and the network’s coverage of events such as the Super Bowl, NFL scouting combine, and NFL draft. Those include 14-year veteran QB Chase Daniel, former Stanford head coach David Shaw, former head coach and assistant coach Leslie Frazier, former offensive coordinator and quarterback coach Pep Hamilton, and Super Bowl champion running back Robert Turbin.
Irvin has dusted himself off from the NFL Network snub by joining the newly revamped “Undisputed” show with Skip Bayless. He joins former NFL players turned analysts Keyshawn Johnson and Richard Sherman on the show.
Irvin is one of the most charismatic and recognizable faces on the analyst circuit, but the NFL Network has stranded Irvin on an island without an apparent reason.
The Jerry Jones Factor
But would they do the same for an NFL owner with substantially more egregious accusations?
Back in late February, a 2020 lawsuit against Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones with accusations of sexual assault was resurfaced. After first being dismissed by a Dallas County district court in February 2022, a Texas appellate court resurrected the case, ruling that it should proceed. In the case, a woman claims Jones, then 75 years old, “kissed her on the mouth and forcibly grabbed her without her consent.”
Additionally, the team is now a defendant in the lawsuit, which could place Jones somewhere in the Daniel Snyder category if you look back at the Washington Commanders scandals. The lawsuit claims that the team “knew or should have known of Jones’s misconduct,” and has made that point very clear in the new appeal.
Would the NFL Network or even the owners galvanize to keep Jerry Jones out of the spotlight? The man is the face of the team just as much as his players, playing the role of a less aggressive Dana White or Vince McMahon. The latter had to step down from his prominent post for improprieties while at the helm of the WWE. Jones, on the other hand, would go kicking and loudly screaming.
Michael Irvin proves that the NFL picks and chooses its faces very carefully, and depending on a variety of well-known class and cultural points, the faces that come, go, and are ubiquitous indicate the true nature of the league.
