Tom Jackson Reportedly "Likely Out" from ESPN [UPDATE]

Tom Jackson is “likely” done with ESPN, according to a report from Bob Raissmann of the New York Daily News. Jackson has been with the network since 1987. Per the report:

"“He’s still weighing his options,” an NFL TV source said. “This will be Tommy’s call. It’s up to him . Tommy’s driving the train on this one. The situation is fluid.” The source said Jackson,65, has been contemplating his TV future for quite awhile. Another industry said the odds of Jackson returning to ESPN are long. “My guess is he is going to leave,” the source said."

Raissmann notes that it’s unclear whether “ESPN brass wanted to remove Jackson from his Sunday Countdown post and asked him to move to another platform.”

(UPDATE: Mike Florio follows up: “Multiple industry sources tell PFT that the decision has been made: Jackson won’t be coming back.”) 

Jackson is the only analyst of Sunday Countdown from last season who hadn’t yet been jettisoned this offseason – Mike Ditka, Cris Carter, and Keyshawn Johnson are all out. As The Big Lead reported, this will be Chris Berman’s last year on the show.

Randy Moss, Matt Hasselbeck, and Charles Woodson were all added for ESPN’s Countdown programs this upcoming season; Trent Dilfer, after a long and winding contract imbroglio, will be on Countdown on both Sundays and Mondays this season, whereas he was previously only on Mondays.

If Jackson is indeed out, it definitely marks the end of an era. Dilfer was the first of the rest of the crop of analysts to enter the NFL as a player, in 1994; Jackson played from 1973 until 1986. He has a real institutional knowledge of the history of the game – whenever it happens, it will be sad to see him go.