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Perhaps the poster boy for ESPN’s house-cleaning was 17-year veteran NFL reporter Ed Werder. Werder spent much of his adult life on the sidelines of an empty stadium before NFL games giving us the 411 on personnel and tangential storylines. And for some reason it always looked to be below zero outside. Werder’s firing was made more dramatic after learning moments before that his dog was dying. A brutal one-two punch.
Werder recently appeared on “The Doomsday Podcast” and educated us on how his firing transpired. He said that although his firing was effective immediately, ESPN asked him to cover the NFL draft after informing him he was being laid off. Awkward.
“When they finished telling me I was laid off, they said this was effective immediately,” Werder said. “And the next thing they told me to do as a former employee of ESPN was stay and cover the Saints’ draft, which seemed like an odd way to begin your unemployment.
“But it seemed like it was my option, and I chose not to. I just didn’t feel like it was the right place for me to be, alone in a hotel room and then out in public as a former employee, representing ESPN with the New Orleans Saints.”
The 56-year-old is now self-proclaimed “restricted free agent,” as he can seek other jobs, but if he lands somewhere, ESPN will stop fulfilling the rest of his contract. Which doesn’t give Werder much incentive to rise and grind.
Werder also delved into his befuddlement with the new direction ESPN is taking.
“It causes me to wonder what is ESPN about because I thought it was about news and information and highlights, and I’m not sure that is the point of emphasis anymore,” Werder said. “How is ESPN going to cover the NFL without all of the people who just lost their jobs? What happens without Merril Hoge and Ron Jaworski to ‘NFL Matchup’? What happens to ‘NFL Insiders’ without a number of analysts, former general managers like Joe Banner and Mark Dominik? Are we really about to see a time when ESPN can no longer afford to cover its most valuable property in the way that historically it has?”
Ed, if you’re reading this, we’ve got an opening as a BroBible blogger. All you have to do is pee in a cup so we can make sure you smoke weed. Can’t be working with any sissies around here.
[h/t New York Post]