ESPN Confident Extension Will Keep Gruden Around For A While

ESPN Exec Expects "MNF" Broadcast Booth To Remain Stable For Years To Come

ESPN Exec VP/Production Norby Williamson yesterday said the net is "very comfortable moving forward" that ESPN "MNF" analyst Jon Gruden, who has agreed to a multi-year extension with the net, is "going to put coaching aside and concentrate on this for his career at the moment," according to Richard Deitsch of SI.com. Williamson said the net will have Gruden, Ron Jaworski and Mike Tirico "for years to come," and said Gruden is "committed to ESPN to be in the booth for the foreseeable future." Williamson: "We hope that he is going to be here for years and years and years to come. For the immediate future, for the next few years, he is not going to entertain coaching inquiries." When asked if Gruden would "be at ESPN in 2011," Williamson said, "He'll be here. Absolutely" (SI.com, 11/16).

CUTTING TIES: SPORTINGNEWS.com's Dan Levy wrote NBC studio analyst Rodney Harrison's transformation into a "professional analyst, and not just a former player, ... came on Sunday night when he questioned" Patriots coach Bill Belichick, his former coach, for deciding to "go for it on fourth-and-two" late in the game. Levy: "That could not have been an easy thing to say, whether you're paid by NBC to say it or not" (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 11/16).

SOONER RATHER THAN LATER? Final ratings for the Sunday night Patriots-Colts game and metered-market ratings for last night's Ravens-Browns "MNF" game were unavailable at presstime (THE DAILY). In Albany, Pete Dougherty noted while Fox' late-window telecast featuring Cowboys-Packers drew a 16.9 overnight Sunday, NBC managed "only" a 15.1 overnight rating for Patriots-Colts "SNF." As a result, "maybe it's time to think about" starting "SNF" games at 8:00pm ET. Dougherty: "It is a Sunday. You don't have to wait for people on the West Coast to return from work" (TIMESUNION.com, 11/16).