Mark Sanchez retires from NFL for high-profile ESPN job

[joewilly12]

Mark Sanchez retires from NFL for high-profile ESPN job

By Andrew Marchand

July 23, 2019 | 8:35am | Updated 

 

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Mark SanchezGetty Images

Quarterback Mark Sanchez is putting away his helmet and heading to ABC/ESPN to be a college football analyst, The Post has learned.

Sources tell The Post the former Jets quarterback’s main job will be in ABC’s lead college football studio, where he will join Kevin Negandhi and Jon Vilma. Sanchez is replacing Mack Brown, who left to coach North Carolina.

Sanchez, 32, played 10 years in the NFL, beginning his career by going to back-to-back AFC Championships and playing well enough to inspire his coach, Rex Ryan, to ink a tattoo of Ryan’s wife wearing Sanchez’s No. 6 jersey. Ryan is also an ESPN football analyst.

After the strong first two seasons, Sanchez’s pro career went downhill and he may be most remembered for the “butt fumble.” In a Thanksgiving game against the Patriots in 2012, Sanchez ran into the backside of offensive lineman Brandon Moore. ESPN replayed the blooper endlessly.

After five years with the Jets, Sanchez bounced around the NFL, spending time with the Eagles, Bears, Cowboys and Redskins. In two games in Washington last year, he was 19-for-35 for 128 yards. He threw no touchdowns and three interceptions.

Sanchez’s move adds another big name to the Saturday college football scene. Besides ESPN’s “GameDay,” Fox is debuting a new studio show that will feature another USC quarterback, Mark Leinart, former Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn, another USC standout in Reggie Bush and former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer.

Sanchez left USC after his junior season and became the fifth pick of the 2009 draft by the Jets.

 

[The Crusher]

Pays to be pretty!

[Matt39]

"retires"

[sourceworx]

I can't knock the guy. He had a 10 year career in the NFL and made a lot of money.  He's only 32, and (to my knowledge) hasn't suffered any major head injuries. Also I believe he's now married and has kids. It makes sense to take a cushy TV gig rather than bounce around the league fighting for a spot on someone's roster.

Good for him

[Ohhthepain]

Wish Mark nothing but the best. 

[southparkcpa]

8 minutes ago, sourceworx said:

I can't knock the guy. He had a 10 year career in the NFL and made a lot of money.  He's only 32, and (to my knowledge) hasn't suffered any major head injuries. Also I believe he's now married and has kids. It makes sense to take a cushy TV gig rather than bounce around the league fighting for a spot on someone's roster.

Good for him

Not to mention on the poon tang he got while in NY. 

[shawn306]

I wish I had a F to give about this.

[Jetsfan80]

I wish him all the success as a professional fumbler of butts at ESPN. 

[usanyj]

I always loved Mark, he brought me two of the most exciting seasons I’ve ever watched as a Jets fan. Look at his playoff stats, he played well enough to get us to the show. Nothing but love for him.

[joewilly12]

2009-2010 two of the best seasons in NY Jets history we made it to back-to-back AFC Championship games with Mark Sanchez as our QB. 

[Legend Killa7]

4 minutes ago, usanyj said:

I always loved Mark, he brought me two of the most exciting seasons I’ve ever watched as a Jets fan. Look at his playoff stats, he played well enough to get us to the show. Nothing but love for him.

I agree.  he was not the reason we lost either of those 2 championship games, that's for sure.

[The Crusher]

9 minutes ago, usanyj said:

I always loved Mark, he brought me two of the most exciting seasons I’ve ever watched as a Jets fan. Look at his playoff stats, he played well enough to get us to the show. Nothing but love for him.

If your 23 and 21 like my two sons he pretty much delivered best Jets football in your lifetime. Sad and as depressing as that may be. 

[Jetsfan80]

1 minute ago, usanyj said:

I always loved Mark, he brought me two of the most exciting seasons I’ve ever watched as a Jets fan. Look at his playoff stats, he played well enough to get us to the show. Nothing but love for him. 

9 touchdowns in 6 playoff games doesn't cut it. 

In the first round of the 2009 postseason, the Cardinals outdueled the Packers 51-45, the Cowboys put up 34 and the Ravens 33.  In the 2nd round you had the Saints putting up 45 and the Vikings scoring 45.  In the Conference Title games you had the Saints scoring 31 and the Colts 30.  In the Super Bowl the Saints put up 31 points.  The Jets averaged less than 20 points per game.  So no, Sanchez didn't perform "well enough to get us to the show", or else we would have, you know, gotten to the show.  Especially since the defense only allowed 28 points total over the first 2 rounds.  The DEFENSE did well enough to get us there.  Mark Sanchez did not. 

In the 2010 postseason, the Ravens scored 30 in the 1st round.  The Seahawks beat the Saints 41-36.  The Bears beat the Seahawks in Round 2, 35-24.  The Packers beat the Falcons 48-21.  The Steelers beat the Ravens 31-24.  In the Super Bowl, the Packers beat the Steelers 31-25.  The Jets averaged just 21 points per game.  And Sanchez himself handed the Steelers 7 points on a key strip-sack to end the 1st half against the Steelers.  He also had a key turnover on downs at the Steeler 2 in the 2nd half.  So no, Sanchez didn't perform "well enough to get us to the show", or else we would have, you know, gotten  to the show.  Especially since the defense only allowed 18 points per game over the 3 games.  The DEFENSE did well enough to get us there.  Mark Sanchez did not. 

He did a decent job of avoiding turnovers in the postseason (3 INT, 2 Fumbles) compared to his usual Sanchezian self.  That's about the only good thing you can say about his playoff performances as a whole.  And even then, that strip sack I mentioned was the worst possible turnover at the worst possible time.  It's not like he was flinging up a hail mary and had it picked off in the end zone at the end of a half.  He essentially cost us a chance at a comeback with that turnover. 

Yes, I just used a lot of words to explain how someone was wrong about Mark Sanchez and games played over 8 years ago.  But if people are going to continue making stupid arguments to explain that Mark Sanchez was better than he's remembered, I'll continue showing how you're dead wrong. 

[Jetsfan80]

4 minutes ago, The Crusher said:

If your 23 and 21 like my two sons he pretty much delivered best Jets football in your lifetime. Sad and as depressing as that may be. 

SANCHEZ delivered it?  I believe you mean Mangold, Ferguson, Brandon Moore, Damien Woody, Darrelle Revis, David Harris, Kris Jenkins, Shaun Ellis, Sione Pouha, Bart Scott, Jim Leonhard, Bryan Thomas and Tony Richardson delivered the best Jets football in their lifetime. 

[sourceworx]

26 minutes ago, southparkcpa said:

Not to mention on the poon tang he got while in NY. 

He was a first round pick making big bucks, and took full advantage of it. Again, good for him.

[Legend Killa7]

2 minutes ago, Jetsfan80 said:

9 touchdowns in 6 playoff games doesn't cut it. 

In the first round of the 2009 postseason, the Cardinals outdueled the Packers 51-45, the Cowboys put up 34 and the Ravens 33.  In the 2nd round you had the Saints putting up 45 and the Vikings scoring 45.  In the Conference Title games you had the Saints scoring 31 and the Colts 30.  In the Super Bowl the Saints put up 31 points.  The Jets averaged less than 20 points per game.  So no, Sanchez didn't perform "well enough to get us to the show", or else we would have, you know, gotten to the show.  Especially since the defense only allowed 28 points total over the first 2 rounds.  The DEFENSE did well enough to get us there.  Mark Sanchez did not. 

In the 2010 postseason, the Ravens scored 30 in the 1st round.  The Seahawks beat the Saints 41-36.  The Bears beat the Seahawks in Round 2, 35-24.  The Packers beat the Falcons 48-21.  The Steelers beat the Ravens 31-24.  In the Super Bowl, the Packers beat the Steelers 31-25.  The Jets averaged just 21 points per game.  And Sanchez himself handed the Steelers 7 points on a key strip-sack to end the 1st half against the Steelers.  He also had a key turnover on downs at the Steeler 2 in the 2nd half.  So no, Sanchez didn't perform "well enough to get us to the show", or else we would have, you know, gotten  to the show.  Especially since the defense only allowed 18 points per game over the 3 games.  The DEFENSE did well enough to get us there.  Mark Sanchez did not. 

He did a decent job of avoiding turnovers in the postseason (3 INT, 2 Fumbles) compared to his usual Sanchezian self.  That's about the only good thing you can say about his playoff performances as a whole.  And even then, that strip sack I mentioned was the worst possible turnover at the worst possible time.  It's not like he was flinging up a hail mary and had it picked off in the end zone at the end of a half.  He essentially cost us a chance at a comeback with that turnover. 

Yes, I just used a lot of words to explain how someone was wrong about Mark Sanchez and games played over 8 years ago.  But if people are going to continue making stupid arguments to explain that Mark Sanchez was better than he's remembered, I'll continue showing how you're dead wrong. 

you should take this argument and present it to the guy who says Eli is a HOFer.....

Not sure where you stand on that, or if you are one of the ones saying he is not (then my point is moot).  But if Eli is a HOFer, then Sanchez was amazing for us those two years.  can't have it both ways.

[sourceworx]

8 minutes ago, The Crusher said:

If your 23 and 21 like my two sons he pretty much delivered best Jets football in your lifetime. Sad and as depressing as that may be. 

I'm 40 and I can say that. That win over the Pats in the Divisional Round in 2010 was straight up euphoric.

[14 in Green]

A young QB comes out of USC a year early and is drafted high in the 1st round by the Jets. 

This story sounds familiar... 

[Legend Killa7]

1 minute ago, 14 in Green said:

A young QB comes out of USC a year early and is drafted high in the 1st round by the Jets. 

This story sounds familiar...

don't do it....don't do it, man!!!

[Jetsfan80]

6 minutes ago, Legend Killa7 said:

you should take this argument and present it to the guy who says Eli is a HOFer.....

Not sure where you stand on that, or if you are one of the ones saying he is not (then my point is moot).  But if Eli is a HOFer, then Sanchez was amazing for us those two years.  can't have it both ways. 

 

Eli Manning won 2 Super Bowls.  Mark Sanchez won.....nothing.  There's no trophies for finishing as a Wild Card and getting to the conference title game twice.  I'd say that's a pretty massive difference in the 2 resumes, wouldn't you?

Mark Sanchez was not "amazing".  9 touchdowns in 6 games.  That's not passable for a pro QB in today's NFL.  Did you even notice what I said about how the other QB's were doing in those 2 postseasons?  Sanchez's job was to hand the ball off and not turn it over (which he couldn't even do; SEE:  Steelers strip-sack).  The rest of the playoff QB's were slinging it around. 

The guy who hates Eli also thought Mark Sanchez was actually good.  Talk about trying to have it "both ways", nyjunc is the posterboy for moving the goalposts to suit his arguments. 

[nyjunc]

2 minutes ago, 14 in Green said:

A young QB comes out of USC a year early and is drafted high in the 1st round by the Jets. 

This story sounds familiar...

Sam is better but hopefully we keep adding talent around Sam unlike what we did with Sanchez

[14 in Green]

15 minutes ago, Legend Killa7 said:

don't do it....don't do it, man!!!

Lol. I was going to do a quick edit, but what fun would that be? ?

[Barry McCockinner]

Dude was never a great NFL QB but he did pretty well playing on a very strong team. Had some nice deep playoff runs that were a lot of fun to watch. So close, so close. ? I hope he does well on ESPN - will be nice to have a bit of a homer point of view among the haters ?

[nyjunc]

1 minute ago, Jetsfan80 said:

 

Eli Manning won 2 Super Bowls.  Mark Sanchez won.....nothing.  There's no trophies for finishing as a Wild Card and getting to the conference title game twice.  I'd say that's a pretty massive difference in the 2 resumes, wouldn't you?

Mark Sanchez was not "amazing".  9 touchdowns in 6 games.  That's not passable for a pro QB in today's NFL.  Did you even notice what I said about how the other QB's were doing in those 2 postseasons?  Sanchez's job was to hand the ball off and not turn it over (which he couldn't even do; SEE:  Steelers strip-sack).  The rest of the playoff QB's were slinging it around. 

The guy who hates Eli also thought Mark Sanchez was actually good.  Talk about trying to have it "both ways", nyjunc is the posterboy for moving the goalposts to suit his arguments. 

Mark and Eli are very similar, Eli is Mark with better teams around him.  Both could look really good one week and like a rookie the next, both could play poorly for 3 qtrs then forget it and play well in the 4th, both rode their D's to playoff success.  The difference was Eli's D's stepped up in title games, marks stepped back.

The only QB who had more ints than Mark during 2009-2012 was Eli Manning.  

[nyjunc]

12 minutes ago, sourceworx said:

I'm 40 and I can say that. That win over the Pats in the Divisional Round in 2010 was straight up euphoric.

It is the best win in team history outside of the 1968 season

[14 in Green]

2 minutes ago, nyjunc said:

Mark and Eli are very similar, Eli is Mark with better teams around him.  Both could look really good one week and like a rookie the next, both could play poorly for 3 qtrs then forget it and play well in the 4th, both rode their D's to playoff success.  The difference was Eli's D's stepped up in title games, marks stepped back.

The only QB who had more ints than Mark during 2009-2012 was Eli Manning.  

You’re quite the curmudgeon, aren’t you?

I like that...

[Kleckineau]

Would be nice if he wipes some snot on Matt Leinert or Brady Quinn while the camera is on.

[T0mShane]

54 minutes ago, sourceworx said:

I can't knock the guy. He had a 10 year career in the NFL and made a lot of money.  He's only 32, and (to my knowledge) hasn't suffered any major head injuries. Also I believe he's now married and has kids. It makes sense to take a cushy TV gig rather than bounce around the league fighting for a spot on someone's roster.

Good for him

All told, and even with all the bullsh*t he endured here, he was always a good, classy guy. I always think back to that story about him visiting that sick kid at his house where the kid was sleeping when he got there and Sanchez waited on the couch for something like four hours until he woke up. Wasn’t even a PR thing, either. IIRC, there was no media present and the only reason we found out about it was because of the kid’s mother talking about it. 

[jmat321]

Good job for him.  He’s going to be good on TV.  That Funny or Die video around the super bowl this year was good.  If he works out at espn, you’ll see him in commercials, sitcom cameos, Etc making fun of himself.  

[kmnj]

hey may not have been any good and rex stayed with him way too long but he was part of some great teams-I hope to god Sam turns out better than sanchez

[SAR I]

Looking forward to his Ring Of Honor ceremony and seeing him around the team and at games in the near future.

Congratulations, Mark.

SAR I

[Matt39]

16 minutes ago, nyjunc said:

Mark and Eli are very similar, Eli is Mark with better teams around him.  Both could look really good one week and like a rookie the next, both could play poorly for 3 qtrs then forget it and play well in the 4th, both rode their D's to playoff success.  The difference was Eli's D's stepped up in title games, marks stepped back.

The only QB who had more ints than Mark during 2009-2012 was Eli Manning.  

This is next level delusion. The guy just "retired" in his prime because he's not good enough and hasnt been a starter in at least 5 years. Eli, while not great, is still an NFL level starting QB pushing 40. At 32 even more so. 

[nyjunc]

2 minutes ago, Matt39 said:

This is next level delusion. The guy just "retired" in his prime because he's not good enough and hasnt been a starter in at least 5 years. Eli, while not great, is still an NFL level starting QB pushing 40. At 32 even more so. 

If Eli's D doesn't come through in the 2007 playoffs Eli is gone from the Giants by 2009 or 2010.  If Mark's D holds a double digit lead in Indy, his career goes in a very different direction.  Eli wouldn't have been starting for another team (unless their starter for hurt) in the last 5 years even with the SB wins

 

In 2 title games mark Sanchez led his Os to 17 pts each time and lost, in an 2 title games led his Os to 17 & 20 in regulation and won.

[Matt39]

Just now, nyjunc said:

If Eli's D doesn't come through in the 2007 playoffs Eli is gone from the Giants by 2009 or 2010.  If Mark's D holds a double digit lead in Indy, his career goes in a very different direction. 

What?

[dbatesman]

Hey all. totally normal 50 year old man here, doing totally normal stuff like talking about a failed NFL QB as though he were my estranged son