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ESPN Hires Bill Polian To Provide Analysis On NFL Free Agency, Player Transactions

ESPN hired former Colts Vice Chair Bill Polian to be an on-air NFL analyst. He starts March 12, the first day of NFL free agency, and will focus on the NFL Draft, free agency and the business of the NFL. "We will tap into his expertise immediately on ESPN in preparation for the upcoming NFL Draft, free agency and arguably the biggest offseason story in years with the future of his former quarterback Peyton Manning still to be determined," Seth Markman, ESPN Senior Coordinating Producer for NFL studio shows, said in a statement. Polian will be a regular panelist on "NFL Live," "NFL32" and "SportsCenter." He also will contribute to ESPN.com, ESPN The Magazine and ESPN Radio. Polian is not the first front office exec to appear on ESPN, as the net features former Dolphins Exec VP/Football Operations Bill Parcells and former Packers VP Andrew Brandt. Polian becomes ESPN's 26th on-screen NFL analyst. ESPN had 27 at the beginning of last season, but opted not renew contracts for Jon Ritchie and Kordell Stewart. Markman said ESPN will especially rely on Polian to provide analysis for player transactions. "The NFL is such a year-round sport that we thought we could use help from a front-office perspective," Markman said. "During the free agent frenzy, we break a lot of stories and we analyze where players can fit in. Polian can speak to why teams are going after certain players. Getting a perspective on a team's philosophy is huge." Polian did not audition for ESPN, which heard tapes from radio shows he has hosted on Sirius XM Radio. "We've interviewed him on camera before, and he was good," Markman said.

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

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