Rich Eisen called NFL games for seven seasons, building a rapport with Kurt Warner that made them the network’s go-to international broadcast duo. That partnership ends now. ESPN, fresh off its takeover of NFL Network’s production decisions, has pulled Eisen from the booth entirely.

As reported by OutKick Sports, Rich Eisen has confirmed that he is stepping away from NFL play-by-play duties. 

“I believe I am. Yes, I am,” Eisen said on SI Media With Jimmy Traina when asked if he’s done calling extra games in the booth.

It’s a quiet end to a run that started in October 2018, when he and Kurt Warner teamed up for the first time to call the game of the Eagles against the Jaguars at Wembley Stadium. The two built real chemistry over the years.

However, criticism was far from being drowned out by chemistry. Time and again, Eisen was criticized for a limited vocabulary, particularly for his insistence on using “the shield” to describe the midfield. His passive-voice calling was even turned into a subject of a joke by media pundits.

In 2023, during an interview for The Athletic with Richard Deitsch, Eisen revealed that he knew about those people who thought he was better off sticking to being a host. The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand didn’t soften his take either. He said Eisen “is just not a play-by-play” guy, someone calling games the way he thinks they’re supposed to be called instead of trusting instinct built through reps.

Eisen actually agrees with that read, in his own way. He traced the struggle back to his roots as a studio host.

“I enjoyed doing it a lot, man,” he said. “I enjoyed doing it a lot. But it’s so counter to what I normally do. Sitting in this chair on this set, a three-hour radio-TV simulcast game day morning on Sunday, if there’s dead air, if there’s blank space, if there’s no talking, my first thought is to jump in and fill the void. It’s the exact opposite when you’re calling a game. Your job is to shut the f up after the big moment happens.”

That instinct, the one that made him a great host, is exactly what worked against him behind the play-by-play mic.

And from everything circling the decision, it sounds like the network already knows who’s stepping into his seat.

A possible Rich Eisen replacement already lined up

So who’s actually stepping in? Reports out last month already pointed to the answer. ESPN is planning to split its extra NFL games between two longtime voices, Dave Pasch and Bob Wischusen. That decision comes with a quiet casualty of its own. Chris Fowler is out of the NFL game-calling rotation entirely, according to sources briefed on ESPN’s thinking who spoke to The Athletic.

Pasch is the name getting the most attention, and for good reason. He’s expected to take over Eisen’s NFL Network exclusive games, and by most accounts, it’s a real step up. Pasch has spent 24 seasons as the voice of the Arizona Cardinals, and he’s also one of ESPN’s go-to announcers across college football and college basketball, plus their No. 2 play-by-play voice in the NBA. That’s a resume most broadcasters would kill for.

Making room for NFL games meant something had to give. Pasch is leaving the Cardinals after this arrangement, and the team will need a new radio play-by-play announcer for the 2026 season.

ESPN made it official, signing Pasch to an exclusive multi-year contract, a deal Pro Football Network confirmed on June 25, 2026. He’ll keep his college football and college basketball duties alongside the new NFL workload.

ESPN has been with Pasch since 2003, and the network says more specifics on his NFL role are coming soon. But the signs already point one direction. Dave Pasch looks like Eisen’s replacement.