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Pat McAfee pushing for job on 'Monday Night Football' | TribLIVE.com
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Pat McAfee pushing for job on 'Monday Night Football'

Doug Gulasy
838762_web1_AP_Pat_McAfee
Indianapolis Colts punter Pat McAfee (1) warms up before an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans in Indianapolis, Sunday, Nov. 20, 2016.

Pat McAfee believes he knows the perfect replacement for Jason Witten in ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” announcing booth: Pat McAfee.

The Plum and West Virginia graduate and former All-Pro punter for the Indianapolis Colts started a social media campaign to become the next analyst for “Monday Night Football,” the long-running weekly NFL staple that ESPN has broadcast since 2006.

The hashtag #McAfeeForMNF was among the top trending topics on Twitter on Monday, with current NFL stars like Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson backing McAfee’s campaign.

McAfee, who hosts a popular self-titled podcast, first expressed his interest in the job on Feb. 28, the day Witten announced he would return to the Dallas Cowboys after one year in the “Monday Night Football” booth.

Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri, the NFL’s all-time leading scorer and a former teammate of McAfee’s, backed the campaign.

OddsShark, which provides sports betting lines and odds, listed the odds for McAfee getting the job on Friday at +5000, behind other candidates like favorite Peyton Manning, the former Super Bowl-winning quarterback from the Colts and Denver Broncos (+200); ESPN studio analysts Louis Riddick (+300), Matt Hasselbeck (+900), Randy Moss (+1400) and Steve Young (+1800); and even former Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow (+3300), who now is playing baseball in the New York Mets’ minor league system.

OddsShark did list McAfee’s odds ahead of Pro Football Hall of Famer John Madden, the former Oakland Raiders coach, legendary broadcaster and namesake of the popular NFL video game franchise (+10,000).

MyBookie, another online sports book, was more favorable toward McAfee, putting his odds at +500.

McAfee punted for the Colts from 2009-2016, getting named to the Pro Bowl in 2014 and 2016, before retiring.

Since his retirement, he worked for Barstool Sports, co-hosted events for World Wrestling Entertainment and debuted as a football analyst last fall, joining FOX Sports for its broadcasts of the Baylor-Texas Tech game in late November and the Green Bay Packers-Detroit Lions game in the NFL’s Week 17.

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Categories: Sports | Steelers/NFL
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