NFL legends seem to be coming for Troy Aikman’s job, but only if ESPN decides to part ways with the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback. Ever since his reported feud with Joe Buck came to light, multiple high-profile names have reportedly emerged as potential replacements, especially with Aikman entering the final year of his current deal and ESPN yet to extend his contract.

So far, former Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen has emerged as a top candidate, while Tony Romo, Travis Kelce, and Sean McVay have also dominated the headlines. Now, another Super Bowl-winning former quarterback has expressed interest in replacing Aikman at ESPN’s Monday Night Football following the 2026 season. We’re talking about former New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees.

Brees recently sat down with Front Office Sports’ Baker Machado, who asked whether he would be interested in joining ESPN’s Monday Night Football booth if Aikman leaves the network after next year’s Super Bowl. Without a second thought, Brees said:

“Of course.”

Brees went on to explain how he aspires to become a great broadcaster after his initial stint with NBC didn’t turn out very well before FOX gave him another chance during the 2025 season.

“At the end of the day, I aspire to be the best at what I’m pursuing. I love broadcasting and I love my team. And I love being able to broadcast games every week,” he added. “For example, this week, we’re broadcasting Vikings-Packers. The Packers are one of the most explosive offenses in football right now. I love the fact that I’ll get a chance to dive into watching [Packers QB] Jordan Love, [coach] Matt LaFleur and that whole offense.

“Look, they struggled early on in the season. Now they’ve kind of turned the corner. The Vikings are reeling a little bit. Trying to figure it out on offense. We get to dive in and identify what the solutions could be. The [Vikings] defense is lights out. What a great matchup that’s going to be. I get to be in the shoes of both. Again, that’s what I love every week is the opportunity to talk about it, communicate it. But we’re all aspiring to be the best that we can be at it.”

Drew Brees has the pedigree to replace Troy Aikman at MNF if we consider his resume. A Hall of Fame quarterback, Brees has won a Super Bowl with the Saints; he is second all-time in career passing yards, career touchdown passes, and career pass completions, and has earned Super Bowl MVP and 13 Pro Bowl honors.

However, it’s his brief broadcasting career that may raise some eyebrows after he expressed interest in replacing Aikman at ESPN.

Following his retirement from the NFL, Brees joined NBC in 2021. The original plan for Brees was substantial: he would be a studio analyst on Football Night in America, a game analyst for Notre Dame football, and contribute to major NBC events including the Olympics and Super Bowl LVI. And while his first season had some good moments, his NFL game work was heavily criticized.

Brees and Mike Tirico called the Raiders-Bengals Wild Card game following the 2021 regular season. That broadcast, however, received significant criticism. Following the season, NBC and Brees parted ways, with the ex-Saints quarterback acknowledging his desire to spend more time with his family as the major reason for leaving NBC.

While he made occasional broadcasting appearances, FOX gave him his big break when the network signed him as an NFL game analyst for the remainder of the 2025 season after he joined Adam Amin in the booth, with Kristina Pink as the sideline reporter. His debut came in Week 11. Subsequently, FOX decided to make Brees a full-time member of its 2026 NFL lineup.

Now, the former quarterback works alongside Amin and Pink on the network’s No. 3 team. They rank behind Greg Olsen, Joe Davis, and Pam Oliver’s No. 2 team, as well as the network’s No. 1 team, headlined by Tom Brady, Kevin Burkhardt, Erin Andrews, and Tom Rinaldi.

However, while Brees is eager to join Joe Buck at Monday Night Football, he will face tough competition following the 2026 season. Still, the 47-year-old aspires to join the No. 1 broadcasting team.

“I would love to. That’s my goal and aspiration, and that’s what I’m working towards. Every week, I feel like it’s getting better and better and more comfortable,” Brees told Machado. “I love the crew that I work with at Fox. I think they’re absolute pros. I love the preparation that goes into a week. I watch that film as if I’m trying to attack every side of the ball. I kind of build my strategy, and then being able to talk to the coaches from each side of the ball, and the key players each and every week. You always feel like you’re staying ahead of the curve. You know what’s coming. You see the evolution of the game.”

But at the same time, if Brees has his sights set on replacing Aikman, it could create a problem for his FOX colleague, Greg Olsen, who currently works on the network’s No. 2 team but is looking to return to the No. 1 booth. Considering Olsen is also in the final year of his contract with FOX, he has been viewed as a potential replacement for Aikman if ESPN ultimately decides to part ways with the former Cowboys quarterback.

Olsen joined FOX following Troy Aikman and Joe Buck’s departure from the network in 2022. Subsequently, FOX paired Olsen with Burkhardt, as the duo went on to call the Super Bowl a year later. In 2024, however, Olsen was demoted to FOX’s No. 2 team after the network brought Tom Brady on a 10-year, $375 million deal and paired him alongside Burkhardt. Since then, Olsen is looking to return to the No. 1 team.

And now that he is entering the final year of his deal, he’s expected to replace Aikman. For that, though, it remains to be seen whether ESPN will decide to sign Aikman amid his tension with Buck or let him go following the Super Bowl in February 2027.