MNF Hired Dennis Miller Because Of Jimmy Kimmel
The host of Jimmy Kimmel Live appeared on The Dan LeBatard Show (ignore the clock-hat and Cavs jersey: two separate long stories), where he discussed his previous work in sports television. In 1999, Kimmel started doing a pregame picks segment on Fox NFL Sunday, and according to someone at ABC, Kimmel’s success there led Disney to believe they should put a comedian in the booth. They picked Dennis Miller, which famously backfired, and Kimmel wound up outlasting him at Fox. Kimmel also discussed his own short turn in the MNF booth, making an appearance during the Jaworski-Kornheiser era that was so humorous (and controversial) he wound up banned from Monday Night Football. Kimmel also revealed the Fox studio crew were slow to warm up to his jokes about them, although Terry Bradshaw eventually came around.
