ESPN 19y

Rothman, Dean to take over MNF

Producer Jay Rothman and director Chip Dean, the Emmy-winning team from ESPN's Sunday Night Football since 2001, have been tabbed to take over Monday Night Football when it moves to ESPN in 2006.

"Jay and Chip are a remarkably talented and accomplished production team," said Mark Shapiro, ESPN executive vice president, programming and production. "They represent the best combination for the storied Monday Night Football franchise when it begins its next chapter in 2006."

Rothman and Dean have teamed up on a variety of high-profile telecasts, including three college football national championships for ABC Sports, men's college basketball, the NFL Draft, X Games, 1994 FIFA World Cup and Major League Baseball. The 2006 Monday Night Football season will be their 16th consecutive as a producer-director tandem on football telecasts for ESPN and ABC Sports. ESPN's NFL game coverage won the Sports Emmy as television's best live sports series in 2003.

Rothman joined ESPN in 1987 as an associate producer. In addition to his role as producer of Sunday Night Football, Rothman oversees the network's production of the NFL Draft.

Dean joined ESPN just two months after the network's September 1979 launch. He has been involved with a variety of high-profile projects including the ESPYs, X Games, Women's Final Four, Wednesday Night Baseball and men's college basketball. He has received three other Sports Emmy Awards.

Last April, ESPN and the National Football League reached an eight-year agreement to move the league's signature series to ESPN beginning with the 2006 season -- concluding Monday Night Football's 36-year run on ABC this year.

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