What is really going on with Troy Aikman?
Earlier this month, ESPN announced that MNF director Jimmy Platt and producer Phil Dean were being swapped out for Derek Mobley and Steve Ackels. Speculation would soon grow whether or not Buck, Aikman, or both had some part in the change picked up last week.
The NY Post’s Andrew Marchand said that while the move was not specifically done at Aikman’s request, his feelings were known.
During the latest episode of the Marchand and Ourand Sports Media Podcast, Andrew Marchand of the New York Post provided even more deatils on what was going on behind the scenes at ESPN. Marchand revealed that Aikman and Dean didn’t see eye-to-eye during their first season together.
“It was clear to the people in charge at ESPN that there was a disconnect between especially Aikman and Dean,” Marchand said. “Aikman made it well known. Aikman’s difficult. You know, we saw when he was a Cowboy and when he was at Fox, it ended poorly.”
Marchand wasn’t the only sports media personality to speculate about Buck and Aikman’s involvement.
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“There’s no way these kinds of decisions happen without Joe Buck and Troy Aikman signing off,” speculated Richard Deitsch on his podcast Tuesday. “I’m not saying Joe Buck and Troy Aikman somehow dislike the people who are leaving, but management would never make this move, particularly with two guys they brought in to reshape their broadest…they’re not making these moves without those guys signing off and I’m sure those guys signed off on it.”
Several people associated with Monday Night Football’s production team would reach out and share their experience from the previous year and how they felt that the sudden change was part of an ongoing friction between production crew and talent, with Aikman specifically cited in multiple instances.
“A lot of ESPN technicians feel betrayed by ESPN leadership,” said one longtime MNF crewmember.
The strain started early on in Week 1.
Some on the MNF crew called out Aikman for using a private jet, not coming to crew outings, and just overall not trying to get to know anybody.
Hopefully, Season 2 will go a lot smoother behind the scenes.
