Meredith, Simpson Out of Super Bowl Booth
It was confirmed Sunday that commentators Don Meredith and O.J. Simpson will not be in the booth during ABC’s coverage of the Super Bowl Jan. 20.
Jim Spence, senior vice president in charge of ABC Sports, said an announcement will be made today regarding the broadcast team and, although not going into specifics, admitted both Meredith and Simpson would have lesser roles at the Super Bowl.
“They will both be involved in the telecast in some capacity,” Spence said.
A source in New York said Washington quarterback Joe Theismann would be one of the commentators working alongside play-by-play announcer Frank Gifford. The other might be Washington Coach Joe Gibbs.
The source said ABC wanted a current coach and quarterback as commentators. The network’s first choice reportedly was Joe Montana and Bill Walsh of the San Francisco 49ers, but they became unavailable Sunday when the 49ers defeated the Chicago Bears in the NFC championship game.
The network’s second choice reportedly was Theismann and Miami Coach Don Shula, but Shula is now also unavailable.
Another source said Simpson will work the pregame and halftime shows and the losers’ locker room. It is not known how Meredith will be used.
Super Bowl game coverage will begin at 3 p.m., with the kickoff set for around 3:15.
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