After three seasons in ESPN's "Monday Night Football" booth, Tony Kornheiser is out.
He will be replaced by Jon Gruden.
In a statement, ESPN said Kornheiser had "decided to step down." Still, during last season there were rumblings throughout the television industry that ESPN brass was looking to replace Kornheiser, who teamed with Mike Tirico and Ron Jaworski.
"Jon is one of the best football minds in the game," said Norby Williamson, an ESPN executive VP. "(We) will create a must-watch Monday Night Football booth."
Tony Kornheiser (from l.) poses with current Monday Night Football play-by-play man Mike Tirico and former MNF analyst Joe Theismann.
Gruden spent 11 seasone as an NFL coach with Tampa and Oakland.
Kornheiser said it was his MNF travel schedule that led to his decision.
"I am totally grateful for the MNF opportunity," he said. "My fear of planes is legendary and true...I kept looking at the schedule the past month and wanted to find a way to quietly extricate myself."
