Everyone misses these NFL analysts being in the booth on Sundays.
As we get closer to the start of a new NFL season, we always look forward to watching our favorite NFL team play each week. Part of that fun is seeing which broadcast team will be calling the game you’re planning on tuning into.
In that vein, it’s difficult to not think back over the history of the league and the NFL analysts that you used to hear every week but are no longer part of the fray. These are the top announcers that we wish were still calling games on Sundays.
Honorable Mentions: Solomon Wilcots (CBS), Don Criqui (CBS), Randy Cross (CBS) and Dan Fouts (CBS)
5. Gus Johnson (formerly NFL on CBS, currently CFB on FOX)
Gus Johnson always brought excitement and energy to the booth when calling an NFL game, as he continues to do with college football and other sports. It’s a shame that CBS never moved him up in their pecking order to keep him around, or at least try to retain him by expanding his presence on the network.
Several current analysts have tried to somewhat imitate Johnson’s excited energy in the booth but few have succeeded. Andrew Catalon on CBS’s fifth team is the worst example but FOX’s C-Team analyst, Kevin Burkhardt, tries to do the same. While Burkhardt is good at his job, his attempts at Johnson’s style fall short. Frankly, FOX should bring Johnson back into pro football.
4. Dan Dierdorf (formerly NFL on CBS, currently radio for Michigan FB)
From his beginnings as a broadcaster on Monday Night Football on ABC with Al Michaels and Frank Gifford through his last role on CBS’s B-Team, it was hard not to enjoy an old-school announcer like Dierdorf. He knew the details of football and conveyed them without grating on your nerves. Dierdorf is missed on CBS, especially with the recent departure of Dan Fouts, as he’s a type of voice that is no longer present anywhere in their group.
3. Verne Lundquist (formerly NFL on CBS)
Who doesn’t miss Uncle Verne calling pro and college football on CBS since his semi-retirement (he still calls the occasional golf tournament or March Madness game). Lundquist is a legend of the business who paired with Dierdorf to call the NFL on CBS when the network gained rights to AFC games in 1998. He eventually transitioned to the college game but it would’ve been great to have a longer run with him on the professional side.
2. Dick Enberg (formerly NFL on CBS, NFL on NBC)
“Oh my!” That’s the famous call of Dick Enberg and, watching on Sundays, it’s hard not to miss having that ring through the living room. Paired initially with Bob Trumpy and later with Phil Simms and Paul McGuire on NBC, he eventually made his way to CBS and worked with Randy Cross as well as Dan Fouts.
Enberg has a terrific voice and was versatile, calling tennis matches during the U.S. Open and also voicing the San Diego Padres before passing away a few years ago.
1. Pat Summerall and John Madden (formerly NFL on CBS and NFL on FOX A-Team)
The most legendary duo of NFL analysts in the league’s history, who doesn’t wish that Pat Summerall and John Madden calling the most important game of a given week. When FOX acquired the NFC rights in 1994, Madden and Summerall jumped from CBS to the competitor network as their lead analysts.
This pairing called several Super Bowls and provided the voices of the league for several generations of fans. Their rapport with one another and iconic sounds and calls made for something truly special that everyone wishes we could find something close to once again.