Why did Rich Eisen leave ESPN? Past exit explored following return to the network

American television sportscaster and radio host Rich Eisen returned to ESPN on Monday (August 18, 2025) night, after more than two decades, per Yahoo! Sports. He hosted SportsCenter on the network, which he previously co-anchored with Stuart Scott, who passed away in 2015 after a prolonged cancer battle.

Eisen spent a significant portion of his career at ESPN from 1996 until his exit in 2003. In an interview with TVNewser in 2015, he explained why he left ESPN when he did. According to Rich, SportsCenter became a “far different show” than it was when he joined the network, which influenced his decision to quit.

"Thanks to the proliferation of information being consumed on mobile devices and the internet, management changed SportsCenter from being a show where highlights and storytelling ruled the day to a show where analysts ruled the day," Rich Eisen stated in the interview, according to Distractify.

He continued,

"With the growing assumption that people tuning into the show had already seen the highlights, SportsCenter went from a show about WHAT happened to a show about WHY something happened, with a debate between analysts attached."

After leaving ESPN in 2003, Rich Eisen joined the NFL Network. He also began hosting a daily sports radio program, The Rich Eisen Show, for DirecTV channel 229, which also airs on Roku, SiriusXM, NFL Now, Fox Sports Radio, and Premiere Radio Networks.

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Exploring Rich Eisen’s history with ESPN

Apart from co-hosting SportsCenter with Stuart Scott, Rich Eisen also served in other roles during his seven-year tenure at ESPN. He acted as an interviewer during the Home Run Derby and anchored the reality series, Beg, Borrow, & Deal.

The now 56-year-old New Yorker also worked for ESPN Radio and hosted the Major League Baseball show. He was a guest host for The Tony Kornheiser Show and The Dan Patrick Show.

It was Rich Eisen who announced the retirement of St. Louis baseball star Mark McGwire in 2001 and later conducted his exclusive interview for ESPN.

However, in 2003, he left the network. According to his 2015 comment to TVNewser, he said he had "asked to do other things in addition to SportsCenter." He added:

"When that was mostly refused by management in charge at the time, moving out to Los Angeles to be the tip of the spear of a new channel devoted to the NFL became a no-brainer."

Later, in an August 2024 episode of the Bussin’ with the Boys podcast, Rich Eisen mentioned having “no quarrel” with ESPN.

“Part of me feels like that’s my DNA, it started with ESPN, and they’re part of my career, and obviously they’re as big as ever. And so I love so many people who are there, Stephen A. (Smith) and Pat (McAfee) … and I have nothing but love for everyone there,” the father of three noted.

When asked whether he would ever return to ESPN, he shared that he had several conversations about it, but it “just never happened for various reasons.” Eisen added that ESPN was “always going to be in my thoughts.”

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Earlier this week, Rich made his long-awaited return to ESPN to host SportsCenter after 22 years. NFL analyst Mina Kimes briefly joined him.

Eisen paid his former late co-host, Stuart Scott, a tribute. The segment showed the friendship, camaraderie, and loyalty between the two with a recap. Rich Eisen emotionally stated that Stuart,

“should be in that chair, with me, with us, tonight.”

Eisen’s return to ESPN happened after the company purchased the NFL Network this month. While he will continue to work for the latter full-time, he will occasionally appear on ESPN. Notably, Rich’s self-titled radio show will also broadcast on ESPN in September 2025.