Tessitore, Witten, McFarland, Salters on ESPN ‘MNF’ crew

NEW YORK — Joe Tessitore calls his new gig at ESPN a “legacy job.” Jason Witten notes he’s joining “another iconic franchise.” Booger McFarland says it’s “the pinnacle of what we do.” They are the three new voices who will work ESPN’s Monday night games this season.

Tessitore has been one of the network’s top announcers for 16 years on boxing, college football and basketball, including calling the College Football Playoff semifinals the past two years. It will be his first NFL assignment.

“I am very conscious of that lineage,” says Tessitore, who at 46 is the oldest member of what he calls “a young, vibrant crew.”

“When I got the call that I would be doing this, my first reaction was remembering when I was a kid watching Frank Gifford, Dandy Don [Meredith] and Howard Cosell. Everybody back then watched Monday Night Football and Wide World of Sports and Howard Cosell doing boxing. I did a Cosell imitation that had my grandfather, who didn’t speak English, laughing his tail off.”

Witten, one of the sport’s finest tight ends for 15 seasons and a likely Hall of Famer, retired from the Dallas Cowboys earlier this month to move into the booth.

Tessitore believes Witten will be a natural as he and McFarland replace Jon Gruden as analysts. Gruden, of course, is back coaching in the league with Oakland.

“We had a lot of candidates, and at the end of the audition process we all were saying, ‘This is very obvious,’ ” Tessitore says of Witten.