Before Rich Eisen became famous at ESPN and NFL Network, he was just another graduate student looking to make a few bucks.
While attending Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism in 1993-94, Eisen worked as a stringer for the Tribune, covering high school football and basketball games. He’d watch a game, find the person keeping the stats and call in a report from a payphone.
“They would send me to Schaumburg, Wheeling, the hinterlands of Chicagoland,” said Eisen, who grew up on Staten Island in New York. “And they’d pay me a few bucks for it. Nothing to dine out on. [It was] just something to do on a Friday night.”
In his eight months at Northwestern’s campus on Lake Shore Drive, Eisen tailored assignments to sports. He covered events such as Michael Jordan’s first retirement and the Cubs’ hiring of manager Tom Trebelhorn. Eisen recalls seeing then-Cubs broadcaster Harry Caray at Trebelhorn’s news conference, which was at a Wrigleyville bistro.
“He was on a barstool drinking a Bloody Mary,” Eisen said. “He had a big, huge celery in there, and I doubt it was a Virgin Mary. It was as bloody as the day is long.”
And it was through NU that Eisen got his first job as a sports anchor. A Medill classmate, who had been hired at a TV station in Redding, California, alerted Eisen to an opening in sports. Less than two years later, Eisen was on the set of ESPN’s “SportsCenter.”
Now in his 21st year at NFL Network, Eisen will call the Jaguars-Bears game at 8:30 a.m. Sunday with analyst Kurt Warner from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. Stacey Dales and Steve Wyche will report from the sidelines. Fox 32 will carry NFL Network’s broadcast.
Having spent most of his career on the anchor desk, Eisen loves the challenge of calling play-by-play. He has been doing overseas games for NFL Network since 2018. He was on the call for Jets-Vikings in London last week, and he’ll call Giants-Panthers in Munich on Nov. 10.
“Basically, my job has been to preview a game or review a result, not describe it as it’s happening,” Eisen said. “So your sense is to fill time, to not let a moment breathe because it’s your job to move things forward and keep things energetic. And that is the exact opposite of what a play-by-play announcer should do.
“They should not interject as much, they need to be quiet, they need to let a moment breathe and let their analyst explain things. Stick to the nuts and bolts, occasionally entertain, but definitely, most importantly, inform without being overbearing. It is an endeavor that I love, and every single time I do it, I cherish it.”
Eisen dove into his preparation for Jaguars-Bears right after calling Jets-Vikings. At their hotel, Eisen and the NFL Network crew had both teams’ games on dedicated screens, with NFL RedZone on a larger screen. Eisen said Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams clearly had his best game.
“Even when he had 300 yards before, it just didn’t look in rhythm, it didn’t look like the ball was being spread around,” Eisen said of Williams’ performance in a loss to the Colts. “It looked like everything was difficult, very little of it was easy.
“That’s not the way it looked on Sunday. It looked breakthrough-ish. Now, obviously, sustaining consistency in the NFL is fleeting and a big challenge in its own way. Williams really looked more comfortable and definitely will be coming into London cresting with some confidence.”
Eisen was NFL Network’s first on-air hire before launching in November 2003. He continues to host “NFL GameDay Morning,” as well as the network’s coverage of the NFL Draft and Scouting Combine, Pro Football Hall of Fame Weekend and the Super Bowl.
But Eisen said he never thought he’d leave ESPN, where he was a prominent “SportsCenter” anchor.
“It was just circumstances that came about,” he said. “It was an opportunity I couldn’t refuse and opportunities at ESPN that I was being refused. It was just something that I felt I had to do, but I was also stunned that ESPN let me go do it. Twenty years later, though, I’m a happy guy. It’s all good.”
Remote patrol
NBC 5, Telemundo and The Score will broadcast the Chicago Marathon starting at 7 a.m. Sunday. NBC/Telemundo will employ more than 180 on- and off-air staffers, as well as more than 35 ground and drone cameras to cover the 26.2-mile course. The Score will have 18 Audacy staffers providing coverage.