ESPN urged to immediately remove Pat McAfee minutes into his MNF Countdown debut
ESPN urged to immediately remove Pat McAfee minutes into his MNF Countdown debut
Rory Robinson Tue, September 15, 2026 at 12:54 PM UTC
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ESPN NFL fans want Pat McAfee fired after his Monday Night Countdown debut -Credit:ESPN
NFL fans called for former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin to be fired after repeated on-air slips during his Week 1 NBC cameo to kick off the season, but Pat McAfee barely spoke before getting the same calls during his first 2026 Monday Night Countdown appearance.
Tomlin faced calls to be removed after repeatedly making a big blunder over Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s nickname and calling him "JNS" instead of "JSN" as the Seattle Seahawks defeated the New England Patriots 13-10 in an opening-week Super Bowl rematch.
McAfee generated the same level of fury on Monday Night Countdown without doing anything remotely comparable. There were no butchered names, jokes that didn't land, or any disastrous take for clicks. It came before a furious Travis Kelce slapped a fan's hand and exploded in rage.
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The ESPN star's apparent crime was simply showing up on yet another ESPN program, and this time seemingly unwanted. Viewers of the show reacted online to how much of McAfee they already feel ESPN gives them each week.
McAfee joined Jason Kelce, Marcus Spears and the rest of ESPN's panel to break down the return-from-injury QB battle between Patrick Mahomes and Bo Nix.
Kelce focused on Mahomes returning from ACL rehab and wondered how much of the quarterback's trademark mobility would return, while Spears argued Mahomes might be motivated after watching Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson lead Week 1 wins.
"Patrick Mahomes being overlooked is certainly a fantastic thought, especially for a competitor like him,” McAfee said. Just seeing McAfee was enough to make fans complain.
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The former NFL punter already has his self-titled daily weekday show, a role on College GameDay, and makes appearances on ESPN's top programs, including First Take. One viewer pleaded, "Please ESPN MNF get rid of McAfee….unwatchable."
McAfee appears on several ESPN programs -Credit:Getty
Another wrote that Monday Night Countdown "should be Pat McAfee free" because it was already bad enough seeing him on College GameDay.
A third fan added, "McAfee does not need to be on every show." A fourth wrote, "Jesus, I can't get away from this f------ guy." Several viewers even grouped McAfee with Kelce and accused ESPN of creating an unbearable combination on the same set.
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Others shared the belief that Ryan Clark would have been better suited to the role after the company laid him off last summer.
ESPN clearly sees value in McAfee regardless of the noise from fans. He earns about $30 million a year with the brand under a five-year deal signed in 2023.
ESPN's lightning rod reaches a huge audience through his YouTube channel, which has nearly 3 million subscribers.
It came after a lip reader exposed what furious Taylor Swift cried out after being shown on the ESPN cameras again.
Source: “AOL Sports”
