NBC announcer Mike Tirico did not appear on Sunday Night Football of November 8, 2026, due to a health problem, according to the NBC sports channel. He was replaced in the booth by Noah Eagle during the game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Chicago Bears in Week 9 of the NFL season.
Tirico was expected to reach the milestone of broadcasting his 300th NFL game this Sunday, which has now been postponed by one week.
Through an official statement from NBC Sports, Tirico stated that "unfortunately, I will be unable to call the game tonight in Chicago due to personal health reasons." He further indicated that he intended to watch the match and was excited to return next Sunday night in Cincinnati to call the game alongside his broadcast colleagues who are analysts Cris Collinsworth and sideline reporter Melissa Stark.
NBC Sports wished him well. As per their statement, he is one of the hardest working persons in sports broadcasting media.
Noah Eagle stepped into the shoes of Tirico to deliver play-by-play commentary for the Buccaneers-Bears game. It is worth mentioning here that, as per NBC Sports, the previous night Noah had already called the Miami-Notre Dame college football game in South Bend, Indiana.
According to Yahoo Sports, citing Pro Football Network, Sunday night in Chicago was meant to be Tirico's 300th broadcast of an NFL game. However, if Tirico does indeed return to work as planned on Sunday, November 15 – which will see the Cincinnati Bengals playing host to the Pittsburgh Steelers – then he will celebrate his milestone in Cincinnati.
There has been no indication yet as to whether this schedule is subject to change, and the readership should consider the date of Tirico's comeback merely a hope.
For decades now, Tirico has been considered one of the most versatile figures in American sports broadcasting. He graduated from Syracuse University in 1988. He started his broadcasting career at Syracuse University's radio station, WAER, and he later served there as assistant sports director. He is a member of the station's Hall of Fame.
From 2006 to 2015, he called play-by-play of Monday Night Football on ESPN and hosted a nationally syndicated radio show that started in 2007
Tirico was signed to NBC Sports in 2016. In his role at NBC Sports, Tirico has hosted "Football Night in America," the most-watched studio show in sports, along with The Open, the Ryder Cup and the Breeders' Cup. He is also NBC Sports Group’s lead primetime host of the Olympics, following in the footsteps of Bob Costas who held that position until 2017.
In 2022, Tirico took over from Al Michaels as the play-by-play voice for "Sunday Night Football." This means that Tirico works in the commentary box with Collinsworth full-time. According to the NBC Sports Chairman Pete Bevacqua, this was always part of the plans when Tirico came to NBC in 2016
In 2010, Tirico won the award of Sportscaster of the Year from the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. In 2017, he was presented with the Marty Glickman Award for Leadership in Sports Media from the Newhouse School at Syracuse. He sits on the university's Board of Trustees, and he and his wife, Deborah, created the Mike Tirico Scholarship Endowment. He was the first recipient of the Bob Costas Scholarship in 1987.
Sunday Night Football is one of the biggest events of the National Football League (NFL). The tandem of Tirico, Collinsworth and Stark is one of the most recognizable teams in American sports media. Last minute change in the studio happens rarely, but NBC managed to cope with it well by involving Eagle who was going to prepare for another match. Health of Tirico is the main question for the fans and viewers of the show.
As far as NBC's plans go, Tirico is expected to resume broadcasting the NFL game between Bengals and Steelers scheduled to take place in Cincinnati on November 15. He will complete 300 NFL broadcasts during that game, and NBC is definitely going to celebrate this achievement. NBC will inform about any changes in their lineup in advance.
