Now that ESPN has completed its latest round of layoffs, the network can turn its attention over to its programming for the 2026 college football season.
ESPN shocked the sports world on Monday when it laid off longtime NFL analyst Ryan Clark. The former Pittsburgh Steelers star and Super Bowl champion joined the network in 2015, appearing on shows such as "Get Up" and "First Take." According to Andrew Marchand of The Athletic, ESPN informed Clark about his fate during Monday's episode of "NFL Live."
“Sources at ESPN say the reason they told Clark during the show was due to media inquiries into his departure and a fear that the news would leak out before they could inform him. Since after the Super Bowl in February, sources had told The Athletic that Clark’s job could be in jeopardy. Last week, The Athletic learned that Clark was likely to be let go,” Marchand wrote. “ESPN’s plan was to do that on Tuesday morning, but after receiving calls on the matter chose to inform him during his show as they did not want him to read it online before being told in person.”
In addition to laying off Clark, ESPN made the tough decision to cut former NFL star Cam Newton, "SportsCenter" anchor David Lloyd, NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero and longtime MLB announcer Karl Ravech.
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ESPN turning the page with a new crew.
According to Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports, ESPN is planning a college football show that'll feature Josh Pate, Will Compton and Taylor Lewan.
"The show will air on Friday afternoons and take place from college campuses, sometimes (but not always) from the site of College GameDay, sources said. It was not immediately known what the time slot for the program would," Glasspiegel wrote.
Pate, a longtime college football analyst, joined ESPN right before the start of the 2025 season. He made a handful of appearances on "Get Up." Compton and Lewan, meanwhile, have thrived since retiring from the NFL. Their podcast, "Bussin' With The Boys," has over 633,000 followers on Instagram and 711,000 subscribers on YouTube.
Do you think this new college football show will be a hit for ESPN?
