Bye-Bye Salisbury

[GrnBay007]

Carter replacing Salisbury as ESPN football analyst

By Michael McCarthy, USA TODAY
ESPN said late Tuesday it was parting ways with longtime football analyst Sean Salisbury. The surprise announcement came only hours after the network announced its hiring of Cris Carter from HBO's Inside the NFL.

"Sean Salisbury has made many contributions to our efforts for the past 12 years. We thank him and wish him all the best," said ESPN spokesman Bill Hofheimer.

Salisbury said in a statement that he had "grown as much as I can at ESPN" and that he decided to expand his horizons with new opportunities in TV, radio, Internet, publishing, movies and public speaking. "My résumé speaks for itself as a football analyst, and I believe I can talk all sports with the best of them."

Networks frequently shuffle their lineups in the offseason. Salisbury's contract with ESPN was up, according to his agent Steve Mandell. "Sean is looking forward to the next phase of his career."

Earlier in the day, ESPN announced Carter had joined the network as a TV and radio analyst. Carter was a plain-spoken TV presence on Inside the NFL. Unlike some league officials, he didn't seem eager to sweep the New England Patriots videotaping scandal under the rug. Carter says there's still major questions that "need to be answered" about the controversy and that many people aren't satisfied with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's handling of the issue. "The Patriots are a modern-day dynasty. If they created an advantage (for themselves), it needs to be looked into."

Carter will miss his old Inside the NFL crew of Bob Costas,Dan Marino, Cris Collinsworth and Sports Illustrated'sPeter King. But he said he's looking forward to working with ESPN analysts such as Tom Jackson.

"We thought it was the best show out there. Unfortunately, they're not going to bring it back. So for me, this is an opportunity with the worldwide leader," Carter says.

[packers11]

I hear he wants a 7 figure deal.... :shock:

Maybe he can buy some photo albums for all those cell phone pictures he has :wink:

[twoseven]

He's pissed because ex football players that 'aren't nearly as prepared or hard working as he is' are getting more money. Hey, just like it was in the NFL. He also called John Clayton 'the Cryptkeeper' on air, a reference to the nasty looking creature that hosted Tales From The Crypt on television. Now THAT was funny. I also read that he apparently showed off pictures of his penis that he snapped with his cell phone in the studio, great. He's now spinning things as exactly how he wanted them to go. 'He's created a brand' and now he's going to take it someplace else. I never liked Salisbury, never could understand how a pedestrain player could get a job as an expert football analyst, sounds like I wasn't the only one.

[RashanGary]

I always thought he did a good job. He knows the game and always seemed to know everything within reason about every team.

I can't stand ESPN. If I'm forced to watch their programming, I'll avoid watching a commercial just because I don't want to give them the satsifaction of paying attn to their advertising.

I paid $15 per year for their ESPN insider though :) Go figure. That's because I like to get all of the draft info from McShay and company. I'll boycott within reason, but I apparently I'm not the type to take a grudge to the point where it hurts numero uno. Apparently I'm not in J-Walks class.

[Merlin]

The guy was a joke. His insight was worse then most posters here. I say good luck fake steak man!

[The Leaper]

The guy was a joke. His insight was worse then most posters here. I say good luck fake steak man!

I agree.

Salisbury was comical in his analysis at times, but his heated debates with Clayton were fun to watch.

[Merlin]

Comical to the point I really couldn't stand watching the guy. I can't think of anyone more uneducated about football then him, well maybe Matt Millen and Dan Dierdorf.

[Lurker64]

Wasn't he the guy who took a picture of "a part of his anatomy" and was showing it to various people around the office who didn't appreciate this? I wonder if that had anything to do with his dismissal.

[Merlin]

He did something like that, sexual harassment or some shit. I believe though it happened before the season? Not really sure anymore, it wasn't that news worthy as he didn't get the pink slip right away.

[K-town]

I agree that Salisbury Steak was a pompous, pontificating jackass,
but come on, people. He's being replaced by Slappy the Clown, for Christ's sakes.
Keyshawn, Emmit, Da Coach, Slappy, Concussion Hoge - is ESPN trying to corner the market on idiots who mangle the English language and have marginally functioning brains?
Who's next? Carrot Top for celebrity commentary?
And while we're at it, why get rid of Suzy Kolber? Maybe it's because she knows football and can string together actual sentences.
Ai carumba.

[The Leaper]

The fact that ESPN is a joke in terms of NFL coverage isn't a newsflash.

While Rich Eisen is more boring than a nerd convention in February, the NFL Network has the best analysts around. Mooch, Deion, Faulk, Woodson...they've got a good group of guys.

[oregonpackfan]

I always felt Salisbury was condescending in his comments to his colleagues at the announcers table. I certainly would not want to work with him.

[Harlan Huckleby]

I thought he was a pretty good commentator.

[pbmax]

Salisbury made Theismann look steadfast and stiff backed.

Just earlier this week in one radio segment he said Clemens was toast and by the end of the segment he was chastising people for blindly believing the trainer.

And everything was delivered in that ESPN branded LOUD VOICE and absolute certainty. At one time I thought he was a decent analyst, but he eventually became a joke as he tried to make himself a personality.

[Charles Woodson]

He was one of my most hated anylstis. I mean the guy acted like he was some sort of pro football hall of fame, but wasnt he actually just a back up? He rarely seemed to know what he was talking about