Louis Riddick to join booth on Monday Night Football

Since moving from ABC to ESPN in 2005, Monday Night Football has ceded its title as the nation’s top primetime football showcase to NBC’s Sunday Night Football. However, with ESPN no longer content with the show’s second-rate status, it has made changes to the show’s staff. Joe Tessitore and Booger McFarland were both cut as commentators, and on Friday, it was reported by independent journalist and author Jim Miller that they will be replaced by longtime ESPN anchor Steve Levy, former Denver Broncos quarterback Brian Griese and Pitt alum Louis Riddick.

Riddick joined ESPN as an analyst in 2013 after serving as a scout and director of player personnel for more than a decade with the Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington football team. Prior to his front-office work with the two NFC East teams, Riddick logged eight seasons in the professional ranks, most notably playing for the Cleveland Browns from 1993 to 1995 after winning a World Bowl with the Sacramento Surge of the World League of American Football in 1992. Riddick retired from professional football after playing for the Orlando Rage of the XFL in 2001.

Since becoming an analyst at ESPN, Riddick has provided commentary on NFL issues, transactions and events on Sunday NFL Countdown, Monday Night Countdown and NFL Live. He has also appeared regularly on ESPN’s flagship program SportsCenter as well as on the Monday Night Football halftime show and postgame show. Riddick also teamed up with Levy and Griese once in 2019 to call a Monday Night Football game featuring the Denver Broncos and Oakland Raiders.

Riddick played as a safety at Pitt from 1987 to 1990. The native of Quakertown, Pennsylvania, was a four-year letterman who became a captain in his senior year. He comes from a family with many ties to Pitt, as his cousin Tim Lewis and nephew Ian Riddick played at Pitt, as did relatives Ryan Lewis and Tristan Roberts.

The former NFL athlete has also remained involved in Pitt football’s off-field activities, narrating a virtual tour of the team’s facilities earlier this year and serving as a keynote speaker at the Pitt Kickoff Luncheon in 2018.