Emmitt Smith Dances to ESPN

By Ben Grossman -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/12/2007 11:00:00 AM

Dancing with the Stars

winner and NFL all-time leading rusher Emmitt Smith is joining ESPN as an NFL studio analyst and will appear on the network’s Sunday NFL Countdown and Monday Night Countdown.

Smith will also contribute to ESPN’s radio network and website.

In addition to ABC’s Dancing, Smith’s TV resume since his retirement also includes spending 2005 as a studio analyst for the NFL Network and an appearance as a guest analyst on Fox’s BCS National Championship pre-game coverage this year.

And while Smith’s new deal is just pegged to ESPN, he isn’t ruling out a future role with ABC to build on popularity outside of just football fans he was able to access on Dancing.

"I’m not going to say no because obviously there are still opportunities on the ABC side," he says. "But I just need to get my job taken care of right now, and my number one focus is to take care of ESPN."

Talkback

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As a die-hard Dallas Cowboys fan, I love Emmitt Smith (as a football player) as much as the next person, but I am really eager to see how his stint as an ESPN analyst works out. I watched Emmitt during some of his other jobs as a football analyst (including with the NFL Network) and, my apologies, but he was as dry as an unbuttered piece of toast.

Say what you will about Michael Irvin (and you could certainly say alot) but you could not doubt his lively personality, upbeat demeanor and ability to provoke thought and commentary. Emmitt is more laid back and actually looks uncomfortable at times speaking in front of the camera. I really don''t see this as a good move for ESPN...sorry!

Dee Evans - 3/12/2007 2:44:00 PM EDT

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