Behind the Mic: Trent Dilfer, Ed Werder Among ESPN Casualties; NFL on Fox Adds Tony Gonzalez, Jay Cutler

Behind the Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, including deals, departures, and new assignments compiled from press releases and reports around the industry. In this week’s edition, ESPN lays off 100 on-air talent including some longtime Bristol vets, Tony Gonzalez and Jay Cutler join the NFL on Fox team, Nate Burleson and James Lofton join CBS Sports’ NFL squad, Yahoo NBA stalwart Adrian Wojnarowski looks to be headed to ESPN, Mark Jackson re-ups at ESPN, Jim Thome joins the MLB Network lineup, Lothar Matthäus joins FOX Sports for the Confederations Cup, Kevin Ray takes over for Steve Albert calling the Phoenix Suns, and much more.

…ESPN’s well-publicized layoffs of more than 100 analysts, anchors and online writers last week hit some of the biggest names in the business. Among the big-name casualties who lost their jobs or will depart the company in the coming months: Trent Dilfer, Ed Werder, Danny Kanell, Jayson Stark, Britt McHenry, Marc Stein, Andy Katz, Jerome Bettis, Jade McCarthy, Dallas Braden, Raul Ibanez, Dog Glanville, Roger Cossack, Jay Crawford, and Jim Bowden, and many others. In addition, The Hollywood Reporter reports that Karl Ravech, Ryen Russillo, and Hannah Storm will see their roles “significantly reduced.” CLICK HERE for a running list of confirmed ESPN layoffs from Deadspin. (Hollywood Reporter)…

…Tony Gonzalez will join FOX Sports as studio analyst starting with the 2017 season. Gonzalez will be recurring on FOX NFL Kickoff, FOX’s NFL pre-game show. A 14-time Pro Bowl selection, including 10 consecutive selections from 1999-08, Gonzalez currently holds the NFL record for touchdown receptions (111) and total receiving yards by a tight end. Following his retirement after the 2013 NFL season, Gonzalez took his talents to television. He appeared as a regular studio analyst on The NFL Today (2014-16), and contributing to other NFL related programming on CBS. (FOX Sports)…

…Former wide receiver Nate Burleson will join CBS Sports as an analyst for the NFL pre-game show, The NFL Today. He’ll also contribute to CBS Sports Network’s Sunday pre-game show, as well as That Other Pregame Show. Burleson played 11 years in the NFL as a wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lions. He was also a member of the Nevada Wolf Pack at the University of Nevada, Reno. (CBS)…

…Former NFL Pro Bowl quarterback Jay Cutler is now taking his seat in the broadcasting booth. Cutler will join FOX Sports as game analyst for the 2017 season, sitting alongside play-by announcer Kevin Burkhardt, analyst Charles Davis and sideline reporter Pam Oliver. Drafted by the Denver Broncos, Cutler was the 11th pick overall in the 2006 NFL Draft and became a starter partway through rookie season. After three years in Colorado and a trip to the 2009 Pro Bowl, Cutler was traded to the Chicago Bears and would go on to lead the team to an appearance in the 2010 NFC Championship Game. He ends his eight-year run in Chicago holding several franchise records, most notably the organization’s all-time passing leader. Cutler finishes his career with a total of 2,782 completions, 32,467 passing yards and 208 touchdowns. (FOX Sports)…

…ESPN has signed NBA Countdown analyst Chauncey Billups to a new, multi-year deal. Billups, the former NBA Finals MVP, will continue as a core member of ESPN’s and ABC’s NBA Countdown pregame and halftime team attached to all regular NBA telecasts, including for the NBA Finals, the Conference Finals, the NBA Playoffs and throughout the regular-season. Billups joined ESPN at the start of the 2014-15 NBA season, providing analysis for SportsCenter and other news and information programming. During the 2015-16 NBA season, Billups began appearing on Wednesday editions of NBA Countdown. He was named a full-time NBA Countdown analyst at the start of the 2016-17 season, alongside host Michelle Beadle and analyst Jalen Rose. Billups, a five-time NBA All-Star, was drafted by the Boston Celtics in 1997 and played 17 NBA seasons, most notably with the Detroit Pistons from 2002-2008…

…Reporter Adrian Wojnarowski, best-known for tracking player trades and signings, will begin working for ESPN after the June 22 NBA Draft, sources say. He is also known for dispensing his scoops in real time on Twitter. Wojnarowski’s hire is also happening at the same time that ESPN is letting some of its other basketball talent go. (Recode)…

…ESPN has re-signed Mark Jackson to a new multiyear deal. Jackson, who is part of the longest-tenured NBA Finals Broadcast team alongside Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy, and Doris Burke, he will continue to provide commentary for the highest profile games. Jackson first joined ESPN in 2006-11. He then accepted the head coach position with the Golden State Warriors. He returned to ESPN during the 2014 NBA Playoffs. He played 17 seasons, most notably with the New York Knicks and the Indiana Pacers. He ranks fourth on the NBA’s all-time assists list. He was also the 1988 NBA Rookie of the Year and is a former NBA All-Star. (ESPN)…

…MLB Network announced that five-time All-Star Jim Thome is joining its lineup, as an analyst appearing across the network’s studio programming. Thome had a 612 home run career that ranks him at 7th on the all-time home runs list. Thome is eligible for election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame starting in 2018. A former infielder and designated hitter for more than 22 seasons, Thome began his career with the Cleveland Indians before joining the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins, and Baltimore Orioles. Thome finished his career with 1,583 runs scored, 1,699 RBI and 1,747 walks. He is a 1996 Silver Slugger Award winner at third base, and in 2003 he led the National League in home runs with 47. (MLB)…

…Soccer legend Lothar Matthäus joins FOX Sports as studio analyst for the FIFA Confederations Cup Russia 2017, airing from June 17 to July 2 across the FOX Sports family of networks. A Ballon d’Or recipient, Matthäus captained Germany’s World Cup winning team in 1990, holds the record for most appearances with the German national team, and is the only outfield player to have played in five World Cups. He makes his FOX Sports debut as studio analyst for the tournament on Monday, June 19. (FOX Sports)…

…NFL Hall of Famer James Lofton has joined CBS Sports as an NFL ON CBS game analyst. Lofton played in the NFL from 1978 to 1993, making eight Pro Bowls as a wide receiver and earning a Hall of Fame induction in 2003. In recent years, Lofton has worked for Westwood One, calling NFL games on the radio. (CBS Sports)…

…Local veteran broadcaster Kevin Ray is hired by The Phoenix Suns to serve as the TV play-by-play announcer for Suns broadcasts on FOX Sports Arizona, beginning with the 2017-18 season. Prior to his new role, Ray was the host of the Suns pre-post game shows, and then served as the sideline reporter the last five seasons. Ray has been part of Phoenix Suns’ Telecasts for the past 15 years. Ray replaces Steve Albert, who last month, announced his retirement concluding an award-winning 45-year broadcasting career. (NBA)…

…ESPN signed Will Cain to continue serving as a commentator on TV, including First Take, Outside the Lines, and E:60, as well as ESPN Radio. A native of Texas and licensed attorney, before entering television Cain financed, bought, and sold two digital and print media companies, Quince Media, a Hispanic media company, and Cain Communications, a community newspaper group publishing newspapers and websites in four communities outside of Dallas. Cain joined ESPN in March 2015 with a wide range of experience, both in front of and behind the camera, also largely outside the realm of sports.  Most recently, he served as a political analyst for CNN and The Blaze.  At CNN, he co-hosted Starting Point with Soledad O’Brien and In the Arena with Eliot Spitzer. Cain has served as a contributor for the National Review, guest-hosted ABC’s The View and MSNBC’s Way Too Early. He has appeared on Fox News, MSNBC’s Morning Joe, and HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher. (ESPN)…

…ESPN has resigned announcer Adam Amin to a multiyear deal. The new agreement states that Amin will continue to call marquee college and professional games year-round across a variety of sports on both TV and radio. Amin’s new contract was finalized during his first year calling NBA Playoff action from 2007-11 where he handled play-by-play, and hosting and reporting tasks for Turner Sports Digital/NCAA Productions, FOX Productions, FOX Sports Wisconsin, the Illinois High School Association and the Horizon League Network. (ESPN)…

…SEC Network re-signed veteran Dari Nowkah to a multiyear deal to host studio programming on the SEC Network, including the network’s five-nights a week news and information show SEC Now. She will also continue to host his ESPN Radio show Darl & Mel as well as contribute play-by-play for basketball and baseball. Nowkah and Peter Burns have been anchoring SEC since the Network’s launch in 2014. (ESPN Media)…

…Stefano Fusaro, an Emmy-award winning journalist who has previously covered the FIFA World Cup, multiple Super Bowls and NBA Finals has joined ESPN as a reporter who will contribute to SportsCenter and other ESPN platforms. Shiffman says that even though Fusaro will be based in Dallas, his reporting will extend beyond the city. Fusaro has spent the last two years at NBC 6 in Fort-Lauderdale as a sports anchor where he covered the Miami Dolphins, Marlins and Heat. Prior to working at NBC 6, Fusaro worked as a sports anchor for Univision covering some of the nation’s biggest sporting events including multiple Super Bowls, World Baseball Classics, the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2012 Miami Heat NBA championship, for which he was awarded an Emmy. (ESPN)…

…ESPN has re-signed Pulitzer-winning journalist Don Van Natta Jr. to a new, multi-year deal. Since the start of his career with ESPN, Nattahe has done cross-platform, investigative stories about scandals embroiling the NFL Penn State University, Rutgers University, the daily-fantasy-sports industry, and others. Prior to joining ESPN, Van Natta worked for 16 years as an investigative correspondent for the New York Times, where he was a member of two Pulitzer Prize-winning teams: for National Reporting in 1999 and for Explanatory Reporting in 2002. In each of the last three years, his long-form articles were anthologized in the Best American Sports Writing series. In 2016, the Society of Professional Journalists named him “Fellow of the Society.” (ESPN)