Latest Vikings News
Recent Vikings blog posts
Latest Sports News
Home | Sports | Access Vikings
Bryant Gumbel quits NFL Network
Print this story
E-mail this story
Save to del.icio.us
Share on Facebook
Share on Digg
Bryant Gumbel's two-year stint as a play-by-play announcer for the NFL Network came to an end Friday when the league announced Gumbel has decided to resign.
"I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to call NFL Network games the past two years, which was a new experience for me," Gumbel said in a press release. "But we've agreed that we'd all be better served going in different directions."
Gumbel, along with analyst Cris Collinsworth, worked an eight-game package for the NFL Network's late-season Thursday and Saturday night games. Best known for the 15 years he spent as host of NBC's "Today Show," Gumbel's hiring by the NFL surprised many because of his lack of play-by-play experience.
He found himself frequently criticized for on-air mistakes and his play-by-play style.
Gumbel, whose brother Greg does play-by-play of NFL games for CBS, did have sports experience, having worked for NBC Sports from 1975 to 1982. Bryant Gumbel also serves as host of HBO's award-winning "Real Sports" program.
The NFL Network will immediately begin a search for a new play-by-play announcer to work alongside Collinsworth.
"We appreciate everything Bryant did in helping us launch our NFL Network game telecasts," NFL Network President and CEO Steve Bornstein said. "Bryant helped create interest in our first foray into televising NFL regular-season games. He is one of the great broadcasters of our time and we are honored to have worked with him."
Recent Access Vikings stories
Dueling QBs: Brees vs. Manning - April 11, 2008
| Date/Opponent | Time | W | L | Score |
| Sep 13 - at Cleveland | 12:00 PM | 1 | 0 | 34-20 |
| Sep 20 - at Detroit | 12:00 PM | 2 | 0 | 27-13 |
| Sep 27 - vs. San Francisco | 12:00 PM | 3 | 0 | 27-24 |
| Oct 5 - vs. Green Bay | 7:30 PM | 4 | 0 | 30-23 |
| Oct 11 - at St. Louis | 12:00 PM | 5 | 0 | 38-10 |
| Oct 18 - vs. Baltimore | 12:00 PM | 6 | 0 | 33-31 |
| Oct 25 - at Pittsburgh | 12:00 PM | 6 | 1 | 17-27 |
| Nov 1 - at Green Bay | 3:15 PM | 7 | 1 | 38-26 |
| Open | ||||
| Nov 15 - vs. Detroit | 12:00 PM | 8 | 1 | 27-10 |
| Nov 22 - vs. Seattle | 12:00 PM | 9 | 1 | 35-9 |
| Nov 29 - vs. Chicago | 3:15 PM | 10 | 1 | 36-10 |
| Dec 6 - at Arizona | 7:20 PM | 10 | 2 | 17-30 |
| Dec 13 - vs. Cincinnati | 12:00 PM | 11 | 2 | 30-10 |
| Dec 20 - at Carolina | 7:20 PM | 11 | 3 | 7-26 |
| Dec 28 - at Chicago | 7:30 PM | 11 | 4 | 30-36 |
| Jan 3 - vs. NY Giants | 12:00 PM | 12 | 4 | 44-7 |
Comment on this story | Read all 56 comments | Hide reader comments