There’s drama at ESPN, but Troy Aikman and Joe Buck kept their beef off Eagles-Cowboys
There's been tension in the "Monday Night Football" booth, but you wouldn't know it watching the Eagles' loss to the Cowboys.
With the Eagles’ season reeling, the most interesting matchup Monday night was in ESPN’s booth.
Monday Night Football announcers Joe Buck and Troy Aikman are careening towards a breakup after having called NFL games together for 25 years. Buck signed an extension with ESPN through the 2032 season, while Aikman has said he expects to be a free agent after the network declined to negotiate a new deal.
“As I’m into my last year at ESPN, I’m realizing that this is something that could very well be taken away from me,” Aikman said of calling NFL games during an interview with Cowboys insider Mike Fisher. “It’s been a great ride for me, and I hope it’s not over. Time will tell.”
“Troy and I have always kept that stuff separate,” Buck told The Inquirer last month. “I love him literally like a brother … I followed him to ESPN, all that stuff, but we’re two grown men with careers.”
ESPN declined to comment.
The two announcers reportedly got into a heated argument before calling a game two weeks ago. According to Puck’s Dylan Byers, their relationship “has been deteriorating for some time” and Aikman felt betrayed Buck would sign a deal knowing it was possible he could have a new partner, presumably current Fox color analyst Greg Olsen.
But none of that drama was on display Monday during the Eagles’ loss to the Dallas Cowboys. The two seemed as comfortable together in the booth as they’ve ever been. Buck even got Aikman to chuckle at a joke made about his former teammate, Hall of Famer Michael Irvin, whom ESPN’s cameras showed multiple times celebrating alongside Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
“Maybe there’s two of them,” Buck said of Irvin’s ubiquity.
“God I hope not,” Aikman joked.
During the fourth quarter, Buck said highlights of Aikman’s performance during the Cowboys’ Super Bowl victory over the Buffalo Bills in 1993 “brings a smile to my face,” and the two couldn’t have been more normal during a postgame appearance on SportsCenter.
About the only time Aikman appeared upset was when the pair mourned the loss of longtime spotter David Moulton, who died following a six-year battle with cancer. An emotional Aikman could barely speak remembering his friend and former colleague.
“He left a hole in a lot of people’s hearts,” Aikman said.
Aikman was also on point with his analysis, pointing out Eagles running back Saquon Barkley might have issues making it through the game after pulling up lame on his hamstring injury early in the first quarter.
The former Cowboys quarterback also didn’t seem too impressed with the win, despite Dallas dismantling the Eagles’ defense.
“This is a beat-up Philadelphia team,” Aikman said following the game. “To come in here and win tonight, I mean, let’s not get carried away.”
Jerry Jones, a priest, and Philly fans
Before the game, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones revealed a secret weapon that protected him from Eagles fans in Philly throughout the years.
“I used to bring Father Tribou,” Jones said during an interview on Monday Night Countdown. He was referring to the late Msgr. George Tribou, a Jenkintown native who served as the principal and rector of the Catholic school Jones’ children attended.
“I’d walk through the stands with the protection of the father,” Jones said. “That still didn’t deter the reaction” of Eagles fans.
Despite the bad blood between the Eagles and Cowboys over the years, Jones had a twinkle in his eye describing how vocal and belligerent Birds fans can get, anger that was on display Monday.
“This place has got a neat way to support sports,” Jones said. “I kind of like it.”
Jones also spent a lot of time before the game speaking to Aikman just a few days after the announcer expressed being open to a reunion in Dallas in a potential front office role.
“Our relationship is complicated. I think he would agree with that,” Aikman told Fisher. “But it is one that’s built, I believe, on respect. This week, he said some really kind things, which meant a lot to me, quite honestly. So, yeah, I would welcome any conversation with Jerry.
“And quite honestly, I don’t know if there would be, or if there ever would be an opportunity,” Aikman added. “But if Jerry came to me and felt that, in his heart, I could lend some services that would help make them better, I’d have a hard time not taking a good look at that.”
Quick hits
In the third quarter, Buck and Aikman gave a shoutout to Tony Granieri, a longtime Monday Night Football spotter in the booth who also happens to be a Linwood, N.J., native and lifelong Eagles fan. It’s a Birds-heavy booth that also features stat guy Ed Sfida, a Villanova grad who’s worked with Buck and Aikman since 2003,
Jason Kelce flew home from Paris to cover Monday night’s game for ESPN and got interrupted while doing a live segment during Monday Night Countdown.
Tom Brady continued his growth as an announcer Sunday by showing a willingness to criticize the officials, something color analysts often opt to avoid in today’s NFL. Brady’s ref call out is more notable because of his other job as minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders. Brady and partner Kevin Burkhardt have one more Eagles game on their schedule this season — Thanksgiving day against the Cowboys.
Tom Brady has had it with the NFL officiating. 🏈🦓🎙️
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing.bsky.social) October 25, 2026 at 7:18 PM
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Game 6 of the WNBA Finals will take place Thursday at 12:30 p.m. on USA Network (with Sixers announcer Kate Scott on the call), not ideal for a league on the upswing. Fans of the Golden State Valkyries could watch their team be crowed WNBA champs during breakfast. As longtime sports media writer Richard Deitsch wrote, “This is a terrible look for the WNBA — and there is no way spin it.”
