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Dan Fouts    

Retired NFL Quarterback & Hall of Famer; CBS Broadcaster for NFL Games

Dan Fouts was named American Football Conference player of the year by The Sporting News and United Press International in 1979 and by UPI in 1982, when he was selected as the NFL player of the year by the Professional Football Writers Association.

A three-year starter at quarterback for the University of Oregon, Fouts was overlooked by All-American selectors because he played for mediocre teams that won only 15 games while losing 17 and tying 1.

Selected by the San Diego Chargers in the third round of the 1973 NFL college draft, Fouts became the team's starting quarterback before the end of his rookie season.

During his 15 years in the NFL, Fouts completed 3,297 of 5,604 passes for 43,040 yards, second at the time to Fran Tarkenton, and 254 touchdowns, fourth (at the time) on the all-time list. He also rushed for 13 touchdowns.

In 1988 through 1993, Fouts started his career as an analyst on NFL on CBS. He worked with variety of play-by-play announcers including Dick Stockton, James Brown, Verne Lundquist, Brad Nessler, Jim Nantz, Jack Buck, and Tim Ryan.

Fouts's post-NFL career included a well-received commentator role on ABC's Monday Night Football, alongside famed MNF anchor Al Michaels and comedian Dennis Miller. He also served as a college football analyst alongside Brent Musburger and Keith Jackson (after Fouts's MNF departure). He was also a sports anchor for KPIX-TV in his hometown of San Francisco from 1994-1997.

In 1998 Fouts made his big-screen debut, portraying himself in the football comedy The Waterboy, starring Adam Sandler. Fouts and Musburger appeared late in the film as ABC Sports' broadcast team for the fictitious New Year's Day "Bourbon Bowl" game.

After Jackson's retirement from ABC in 2006, Fouts became a play-by-play announcer, adding his own commentary on the game at times since he was a former player and analyst. His broadcast partner for 2006 and 2007 was Tim Brantnow that Jackson has opted to permanently retire. (Jackson previously said he was going to retire after the 1998 college football season, but elected to stay on to call Pac-10 games for ABC, including the annual Rose Bowl).

On February 11, 2008, ESPN announced they weren't re-signing Fouts or his partner Tim Brant.

It was reported in USA Today on August 20, 2008 that Fouts was returned to CBS for NFL games with a variety of play-by-play announcers including Don Criqui, Ian Eagle, and Dick Enberg.

In 2009, he was moved to partner with Dick Enberg as the #3 broadcasting team for the NFL on CBS. Fouts has since teamed with Ian Eagle in the number three slot until 2014, when the pair was elevated to the number two team behind Jim Nantz and Phil Simms.He has also called NFL games for Dial Global radio. Since 2012, he has been the play-by-play voice for Chargers preseason games carried on CBS stations throughout Southern California, alongside fellow Charger alum Billy Ray Smith.

Fouts also did color commentary for the football video game NFL GameDay 2004. He partnered with long-time announcer Dick Enberg.

News


Dan Fouts: 'It's embarrassing' Chargers play in a 27,000-seat soccer ...
Upside: It'll offer fans a more intimate NFL experience -- one they won't get at any other venue -- and it'll be relatively easy to pack the stands. In fact, by March, ...
Dan Fouts proves he's part of problem with Terrell Owens' HOF snub ...
Former NFL quarterback, and a member of the HOF committee, Dan Fouts explained his reason for keeping out Owens. Fouts felt like the committee did its job in ...

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