It’s Official! The Mike & Mike Experience on Monday Night Football Is Over

ESPN has made the official announcement that Brad Nessler and up and coming analyst Trent Dilfer will be the announcing team for the 2nd Monday Night Football game for the Opening Weekend doubleheader on September 13. It’s a good move as Nessler has called the NFL in the past for CBS. Dilfer impressed me during the ESPN Media Workshop last year when he talked with a group of reporters and bloggers. And he deserves the assignment. After a couple of seasons with Mike Greenburg and Mike Golic calling the games with a guest analyst (Mike Ditka and Steve Young), the experimenting with novice announcers is finally over.

I like this pairing for the San Diego-Kansas City game which will air at 10:15 p.m. East.

Brad Nessler and Trent Dilfer to Call Chargers-Chiefs on Monday Night Football

Season-Opener at Newly Renovated Arrowhead Stadium Part of MNF Doubleheader Sept. 13 at 10:15 p.m. ET

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: ESPN play-by-play voice Brad Nessler and NFL studio analyst Trent Dilfer will call the San Diego Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs, the second game of ESPN’s season-opening Monday Night Football doubleheader September 13 at 10:15 p.m. ET (9:15 p.m. CT). The AFC West matchup will be the first regular season game at the newly renovated Arrowhead Stadium, one of the NFL’s iconic venues, and the first MNF game in Kansas City since Nov. 22, 2004.

MNF reporter Suzy Kolber will also be in Kansas City on game day to provide updates on the teams throughout the day. The Chargers-Chiefs will follow the Baltimore Ravens-New York Jets telecast (7 p.m.) when the MNF commentator team of Mike Tirico and analysts Jon Gruden and Ron Jaworski makes its regular season debut.

“We have a deep roster of football experts and this will be a great pairing for the Monday Night Football doubleheader that will appeal to fans with Brad, one of the best live event commentators in the business, and Trent, who always offers fresh and informed perspectives and is just a few seasons removed from his own days as a Super Bowl-winning NFL quarterback,” said Norby Williamson, ESPN executive vice president, production.

Nessler is making his second appearance in the MNF booth. During the first year of ESPN’s season-opening doubleheader (2006), he worked alongside Jaworski and former NFL head coach Dick Vermeil – a pairing that earned much praise from viewers – to call the Chargers-Raiders. Nessler has served as a play-by-play commentator for college football and basketball since joining ESPN and ABC in 1992. This fall, Nessler will team with Todd Blackledge to form one of ESPN’s top college football teams. In addition to his Chargers-Chiefs assignment, Nessler will work with Blackledge two days earlier (Sept. 11) to call Miami-Ohio State in Columbus (3:40 p.m., ESPN and ESPN3.com), one of the biggest college football games of the opening month of the season. Before arriving at ESPN, Nessler handled radio play-by-play for the Atlanta Falcons (1982-88) and Minnesota Vikings (1988-89). He has also served as play-by-play announcer for Miami Dolphins preseason telecasts.

Dilfer, the 14-year NFL veteran and Super Bowl-winning quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens, is a studio analyst for a variety of ESPN programs: NFL Live, NFL PrimeTime, SportsCenter, and Monday Night Countdown. He has also regularly contributed analysis to ESPN Radio programs and to ESPN’s annual Super Bowl week and NFL Draft coverage since joining the company in July 2008 – on the same day he announced his retirement from the NFL. While the Chargers-Chiefs will be Dilfer’s debut in the MNF booth, he worked the Ball State-Central Michigan college football game for ESPN last fall and will work the Cincinnati-Fresno State game Sept. 4 (10 p.m., ESPN2 and ESPN3.com).

Senior coordinating producer Tim Corrigan, who has overseen ESPN’s season-opening MNF doubleheader game the past four seasons, and director Mike Schwab, will oversee production of the San Diego-Kansas City matchup, which will pit Phillip Rivers and the defending AFC West champions against newly acquired free agent running back Thomas Jones and the Chiefs.  It marks the first time the nightcap of the ESPN MNF doubleheader will be played outside San Francisco/Oakland since the two-game format was adopted in 2006.

Good to see this and this will not anger NFL fans who felt Mike & Mike talked way too much during the games.