Boomer Esiason won’t return as ‘Monday Night Football’ radio analyst

Boomer Esiason announced on Monday that he will not return as an analyst for Westwood One radio’s national “Monday Night Football” package, ending an 18-year run.

Esiason said he had been leaning toward that decision late last season and made it final when the 2018 schedule came out and included many Central, Mountain and Pacific Time Zone games.

“I’m going to miss it, but in all reality I kind of have to get part of my life back,” Esiason said on WFAN Monday morning during a call from his longtime play-by-play partner, Kevin Harlan.

Kurt Warner, a frequent fill-in for Esiason on radio, is presumed to be the leading candidate to replace him as the lead analyst for Westwood One.

Because of his WFAN show, Esiason most weeks had to fly to the site of the Monday night game after that morning’s show, then return on a private plane immediately after the football game to get back on the air by 6 a.m. Tuesday.

Esiason is scheduled to do one last game for Westwood One — the Thursday night Falcons at Eagles opener on Sept. 6.

In addition to his WFAN show, Esiason will continue as an analyst for CBS’ “The NFL Today” pregame show and Showtime’s “Inside the NFL.”

Last season’s Super Bowl was Esiason’s 18th for Westwood One and 19th overall, having been a TV analyst for ABC for Super Bowl XXXIV.

“Boomer has been the constant for a generation of ‘Monday Night Football’ listeners, and we can’t thank him enough for his nearly two decades of service to Westwood One,” executive producer Howard Deneroff said in a news release. “He has been the ultimate professional, a terrific broadcaster, and a great teammate to all of us who have had the good fortune of working with him.”