Several notable ESPN sports personalities were victims of a massive layoff earlier this month. Expectedly, a lot of role changes have followed suit, as new faces could emerge as well. Ahead of the 2026 season, ESPN’s Molly McGrath is moving on from college football to the National Football League.

“I’m thrilled to expand my role within ESPN’s NFL coverage and for the opportunity to showcase a broader range of skills, from sideline reporting to hosting in studio, while diving deeper into the sport at the highest level,” McGrath told Front Office Sports in a statement. 

It was just this month that McGrath clocked ten years with the Worldwide Leader in Sports, having rejoined in July 2016. Her first job after graduating from Boston College was as a production assistant with the network in 2011. However, she also had stints with Fox Sports and NESN. But she rejoined ESPN as a college basketball sideline reporter before switching to college football, where she has made a name for herself as one of the leading college football reporters in the country.

In the 2026 season, she will cover NFL Network’s package of games, according to Front Office Sports. And for times when Laura Rutledge is unavailable on NFL Live, McGrath will be the fill-in host.

Fans expressed disappointment at McGrath’s departure, citing her sideline reporting as a strength of ESPN’s college football coverage. Her replacement has a difficult job ahead and will need to win over fans who are skeptical about the transition.

Laura Rutledge’s replacement at SEC Nation, Matt Barrie, did not find life easy immediately after the switch happened. The first problem with him was the fact that he was not an SEC alumnus. And while that may have settled, there will certainly be other issues to deal with as the season continues.

The move is one of many changes following Disney’s acquisition of NFL Network earlier this year. The deal involved an exchange for a 10% ownership stake in ESPN. The former league-owned network has seven regular-season games this year. While Dave Pasch is expected to handle play-by-play duties, the color analyst has yet to be announced.

Other changes in ESPN

According to Front Office Sports, Jordan Rodgers is stepping away from his longtime role on SEC Saturday Night and SEC Nation to take on a bigger assignment across ESPN and ABC. He transitions to an elevated national role, calling college football games on Friday nights alongside Mike Monaco.

Replacing him at the SEC Network’s SEC Nation in-studio show is former Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel, who will also call ESPN’s Thursday night games alongside new SEC Nation host Matt Barrie, who replaced Laura Rutledge in the role. Rutledge chose to focus on her work with ESPN’s NFL Live and NFL sideline reporting duties.

As many of these names occupy new roles, the likes of Ryan Clark, Karl Ravech, Cam Newton, Tom Pelissero, David Lloyd, Charles David, and others within the company were laid off, following the deal with NFL Network.