Tony Dungy Likely Out as Regular on NBC's 'Football Night in America'

Tony Dungy’s 17-season run as a regular panelist on NBC’s Football Night in America appears to be nearing an end, according to sources briefed on the network’s plans to overhaul its flagship NFL pregame program. The Hall of Fame coach, who first joined the show in 2008, has not yet been formally notified of the decision, leaving open a slim chance that executives could reverse course or offer Dungy an emeritus role similar to the arrangements previously granted to Bob Costas and Al Michaels.

The anticipated move is the first visible step in a broader makeover of the Sunday-night studio show. While Football Night in America remains the highest-rated Sunday pregame property—benefiting from its lead-in position between the late-afternoon regional broadcasts and the primetime kickoff—NBC is exploring a leaner on-air roster and the possibility of taking the program fully on the road next season, sources said.

Contracts for most of the show’s ex-player analysts, including Dungy, Devin McCourty, Jason Garrett, Chris Simms and Rodney Harrison, expired after the Super Bowl. Host Maria Taylor, insider Mike Florio, fantasy analyst Matthew Berry, reporter Jac Collinsworth and statistician Steve Kornacki remain under contract. This past season Dungy, Harrison and Collinsworth worked remotely from game sites while the rest of the cast operated out of the studio; the trio drew attention during Super Bowl week when they broadcast from Alcatraz Island.

Network officials have yet to finalize the revamped format, and the pool of available A-list replacements is limited. Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin tops NBC’s internal wish list, but people close to Tomlin say he is hesitant to leave the sideline. Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce has signaled he wants to play at least one more season and, when he does transition to television, prefers calling games rather than studio work. Steelers defensive lineman Cam Heyward and Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins made postseason studio cameos, yet both may remain active players in 2025. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, another speculative candidate, could also continue playing.

Dungy, 70, has been a steady presence on NBC since retiring from coaching after the 2008 season. He led the Indianapolis Colts to a Super Bowl XLI victory and finished his coaching career with 139 regular-season wins. A member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2016, Dungy found himself at the center of a brief controversy during Super Bowl week when he repeatedly declined to disclose whether he voted for former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, a rival from the Colts-Patriots clashes that included the Deflategate saga.

NBC declined to comment on personnel matters. Sources emphasized that no final determinations have been made, but the network’s current trajectory points toward a reduced—or eliminated—role for the veteran coach when the 2025 NFL season kicks off.