ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski said Monday he was saddened by the network's decision to remove him as a commentator from "Monday Night Football," but that he also looks forward to his new role.
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The network's reasoning for the move had been unclear, and play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico said last Friday he did not know why Jaworski was not brought back. Jaworski said he believes the network was intent on moving to a two-man booth -- the network decided to retain Tirico and color commentator Jon Gruden -- and suggested that age might have played a factor in his removal.
"What I'm going to tell you is pure speculation, based on what I've heard ... from the leaders and captains of industry at ESPN," Jaworski told WPEN-FM in Philadelphia, via SportsRadioInterviews.com. "They just feel that a two-man booth was the way to go.Â
"Obviously, I'm the odd man out. I'm the 60-year-old guy and Jon's the young guy that they believe is the future. I'm not going to argue with that."
Jaworski went on to say he holds no ill will about leaving "Monday Night Football."
"They put me in a position that is really, really good in giving me the platforms to develop some of my own programming to do some things that I've always wanted to do," Jaworski said. "And at the end of the day, they're paying me a lot of money, so I can't argue with any of that."
