ESPN’s First Take to add former Cowboys, Gators stars

ESPN’s morning debate show “First Take” will add some new faces to its cast.

After a surprise announcement on Wednesday morning’s show that the episode would be host Max Kellerman’s last, ESPN announced Thursday that a rotating group of ESPN personalities will join Stephen A. Smith on the weekday show. Former Miami and Dallas Cowboys star Michael Irvin will join the show on Mondays, and former Florida legend Tim Tebow will be the regular Friday guest. 

The Tebow portion of the announcement was a surprise, while Irvin had been rumored to be in the running for the role. 

Tebow has been with ESPN since leaving the NFL, making his SEC Network debut in 2014. He makes regular appearances on the family of ESPN channels. Irvin has worked for the NFL Network as an analyst since 2009. He is not expected to take on additional ESPN NFL coverage. 

Outside of Monday and Friday, Smith and host Molly Qerim Rose will be joined by a number of contributors including Paul Finebaum, Keyshawn Johnson, Mina Kimes, Kimberley A. Martin, Monica McNutt, Jessica Mendoza, Chiney Ogwumike, Dan Orlovsky, Kendrick Perkins, Marcus Spears, Brian Windhorst and Damien Woody, among others.

Irvin and Tebow are familiar faces to football fans

Irvin has previously jarred on-air with Smith about the Cowboys, as Smith infamously mocks them on a regular basis. Irvin, who is a Hall of Famer, spent his entire 12-year professional football career in Dallas. He played 159 games and started in 147 of them. Irvin had 11,904 receiving yards and 65 touchdowns on 750 catches. His career average for yards per reception was 15.9. Irvin played for three Super Bowl-winning Dallas teams in the 1990s. 

Prior to his career with the Cowboys, Irvin played college football at Miami from 1985-1987 and was a member of the 1987 national championship team. Irvin tallied 2,423 yards and 26 touchdowns on 143 receptions. He was the No. 11 overall selection in the 1988 NFL Draft.

Tebow played college football at Florida where he is still revered as the one of the best players to ever don the blue and orange in Gainesville. The quarterback was a member of the 2006 national championship-winning team and was the starting quarterback in 2008 when the team added another title. Tebow was a true dual-threat quarterback; he totaled 9,285 yards and 88 passing touchdowns through the air plus 2,947 yards and 58 touchdowns with his legs. 

After being taken No. 25 overall by the Denver Broncos in the 2010 NFL Draft, Tebow bounced around between four total NFL teams before leaving the league to play professional baseball. He spent a brief amount of time with the Jacksonville Jaguars as a tight end this spring and summer before being cut during the preseason.