Sean McDonough Will Replace Mike Tirico on ESPN Monday Night Football

ESPN's Sean McDonough will replace Mike Tirico as the lead play-by-play announcer for Monday Night Football.  

ESPN announced the decision after Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated reported the news Monday. Chad Finn of the Boston Globe reported McDonough will continue working in college basketball on top of his new role.

SportsBusiness Daily's John Ourand reported April 25 that Tirico will be leaving ESPN for NBC and indicated McDonough was a prime candidate to fill in on Monday Night Football.

ESPN Monday Night on Twitter highlighted the exclusive company McDonough is preparing to join in Keith Jackson, Frank Gifford, Al Michaels and Tirico:

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Sean McDonough will be the fifth person to occupy the play-by-play position in the 46-year history of MNF. pic.twitter.com/lBhXDje1m3

— ESPN Monday Night (@ESPNMondayNight) May 9, 2016"

The announcement indicated McDonough's debut on the program will be August 7 for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game between the Indianapolis Colts and Green Bay Packers.

ESPN's statement also contained comments from Executive Vice President of Programming and Production John Wildhack, along with McDonough and MNF analyst Jon Gruden.

"Sean is a premier play-by-play commentator who combines a signature voice with intelligence, passion and humor, and he always brings out the best in his partners," Wildhack said. "Monday Night Football has a rich history and a bright future ahead with our new booth team of Sean and Jon."

McDonough, who has done ESPN radio play-by-play for NFL games since 2003, spoke more about his new role: "This is a dream come true. One of my favorite memories of my childhood was watching Monday Night Football with my dad, who I know is smiling down on me today. I am humbled and deeply honored to have the opportunity to be a part of the most iconic franchise in the history of sports television."

Gruden appeared eager to work with his new broadcast partner, saying the following about McDonough:

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I have met Sean and I am excited about the opportunity to work with him. Like me, he comes from a family of three boys. Passion for sports has been a way of life for him and his brothers. He's a seasoned pro, who's called some of the biggest sporting events, including lots of football. I'm looking forward to getting started.

"

NBC Sports Group also made Tirico's move to NBC official Monday through a press release. Tirico will headline NBC's Thursday Night Football and Sunday Night Football telecasts in addition to the Summer and Winter Olympics and select golf telecasts.

Eric Edholm of Yahoo Sports weighed in on the notable change to one of ESPN's premier TV programs:

McDonough certainly has big shoes to fill. Tirico juggled many different sports for ESPN but was equally adept at handling all of them, no matter how big the event was.

Football fans will likely be in for an adjustment period after becoming so accustomed to Tirico. All indications are McDonough is a deserving and worthy successor, though, and he boasts a similarly well-rounded resume consisting of MLB, NHL, tennis, golf and college sports, among other play-by-play coverage for ESPN and previously CBS. He also held television play-by-play duties for the Red Sox from 1988 to 2004.

Per ESPN's news release, McDonough has been with the network since 2000 and signed a new contract extension recently.