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Suzy Kolber, Max Kellerman, Jeff Van Gundy are among ESPN personalities let go in layoffs

ESPN said the cuts will help the network hit "financial targets and ensure future growth."

Longtime NFL anchor and reporter Suzy Kolber is among the on-air personalities let go by ESPN on Friday. Kolber called the news "heartbreaking."
Longtime NFL anchor and reporter Suzy Kolber is among the on-air personalities let go by ESPN on Friday. Kolber called the news "heartbreaking."Read moreSTEVEN M. FALK / Staff Photographer
    by Rob Tornoe
    Updated 
    Published 

ESPN laid off some notable on-air personalities Friday as part of wider cutbacks at parent company Disney.

Suzy Kolber, a Philadelphia-area native who has been part of the network’s NFL coverage for 27 years, announced on Twitter that she was among the personalities who had been laid off.

Kolber, an Upper Dublin High alum who entered the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame in 2019, called the move “heartbreaking,” She added that 38 years in the business “is something I’m especially proud of.”

Jeff Van Gundy, ESPN’s top NBA analyst who is coming off calling the NBA Finals, is also among the notable personalities being let go, according to sources. The New York Post’s Andrew Marchand was first to report the news.

Van Gundy had been with ESPN for 16 years, calling NBA games alongside Mike Breen and Mark Jackson. It’s unclear if ESPN will replace Van Gundy on its No. 1 team, although the network could turn to former Sixer JJ Redick or Doris Burke.

NBA analyst Jalen Rose has also been let go, according to several reports.

After playing 16 seasons in the NBA, Rose joined ESPN in 2007 as a studio analyst, and has been part of the network’s NBA Countdown pregame show for a decade. He also cohosted the Jalen & Jacoby podcast with former ESPNer David Jacoby, which was canceled last year.

The cutbacks are expected to total around 20 on-air personalities, and could reach into all aspects of ESPN’s coverage, including the NFL. ESPN has had two previous rounds of layoffs since March.

Other ESPN personalties reportedly let go on Friday include:

  1. Todd McShay, one of ESPN’s top NFL draft analysts, according to the New York Post. McShay, who had been with the network since 2006, had been a staple of the network’s NFL draft coverage along with Mel Kiper Jr.

  2. Steve Young, the Pro Football Hall of Famer who had be a staple of ESPN’s Monday Night Football coverage, according to Front Office Sports. Young had been with ESPN for 22 years

  3. Max Kellerman, the former cohost of First Take and currently host of This Just In, according to the New York Post. Kellerman’s time at ESPN goes all the way back to the now-defunct SportsNation, and he was the first host of Around the Horn. He began as an analyst on ESPN’s boxing series Friday Night Fights in the late 1990s.

  4. Keyshawn Johnson, the Super Bowl champion who spent 11 years in the NFL, according to the New York Post. Johnson had been part of ESPN’s NFL coverage since 2007, and until recently had cohosted ESPN’s national morning radio show with Kellerman and Jay Williams.

  5. Matt Hasselbeck, the former NFL quarterback who had been part of ESPN’s NFL coverage since 2016, according to Front Office Sports. Hasselbeck was a member of ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown crew alongside Sam Ponder, Tedy Bruschi, Randy Moss, and Rex Ryan.

  6. LaPhonso Ellis, a longtime men’s college basketball analyst on College GameDay, according to Front Office Sports. Ellis, a standout at Notre Dame who played 11 seasons in the NBA, had been with ESPN since 2009.

  7. Ashley Brewer, a SportsCenter anchor who has been with ESPN since 2020. “I look forward to what’s next,” Brewer wrote on Twitter.

  8. Joon Lee, a baseball writer for ESPN.com who announced his departure on Twitter. “I got to live out my literal childhood dream job, worked with some of the most talented people and made so many friends,” Lee wrote.

  9. Jordan Cornette, studio host of ACC Huddle on the ACC Network. Cornette joined ESPN in 2018 and helped launch the ACC Network in 2019. He also cohosted a weekend radio show with his wife, fellow ESPNer Shae Peppler Cornette.

  10. David Pollack, a longtime college football analyst for College GameDay, according to the New York Post. Pollack, a former University of Georgia standout, had been with ESPN since 2009.

ESPN said in a memo shared to employees Friday morning: “Given the current environment, ESPN has determined it necessary to identify some additional cost savings in the area of public-facing commentator salaries, and that process has begun. This exercise will include a small group of job cuts in the short-term and an ongoing focus on managing costs when we negotiate individual contract renewals in the months ahead. This is an extremely challenging process, involving individuals who have had tremendous impact on our company. These difficult decisions, based more on overall efficiency than merit, will help us meet our financial targets and ensure future growth.”

Last week, longtime SportsCenter anchor Neil Everett announced he was leaving the network after refusing to take a pay cut amid the companywide layoffs.

“Love is a long road, I’ll see you down it,” Everett said to close his final SportsCenter.

Former NHL star Chris Chelios and former NFL player Rob Ninkovich were also caught up in the cutbacks. They did not have their contracts renewed, according to multiple reports.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.