https://nypost.com/2023/12/12/sports/al-michaels-out-of-nbcs-nfl-playoff-coverage-in-move-he-didnt-expect/

The legendary NFL broadcaster, who currently calls games Amazon's Thursday Night Football, was scheduled to call one playoff game in January for NBC as he did last season. But after he was dragged for his lifeless call (https://awfulannouncing.com/nfl/al-michaels-tony-dungy-jaguars-comeback-call-nbc-chargers.html) of an epic playoff comeback last season, NBC has decided to drop (https://awfulannouncing.com/nbc/al-michaels-playoff-coverage-removed.html) the 79-year-old Michaels and replace him with Noah Eagle, the 27-year-old son of top sports broadcaster Ian Eagle. Noah Eagle is scheduled to call Nickelodeon's first-ever Super Bowl broadcast in February. "Michaels’ swap-out by NBC (https://www.reddit.com/r/nfl/comments/18goqc0/meirov_nbc_will_not_have_al_michaels_back_for_the/) has been in the works for awhile, though Michaels was apparently caught off guard (https://www.reddit.com/r/nfl/comments/18go48h/marchand_al_michaels_out_of_nbcs_nfl_playoff/)," reports (https://sports.yahoo.com/nbc-removes-al-michaels-from-nfl-playoff-coverage-per-report-171645525.html) the New York Post's Andrew Marchand. "During an early November interview with The Post, Michaels said he believed that he was still going to call the game on NBC, but did not know whom he would be working with. When informed by The Post about it being in limbo, Michaels sounded unaware of the possibility." Michaels told Marchand at the time: “It’s in my deal Where are you hearing that from? That’s part of my deal. Are you hearing something that I’m not hearing?” Michaels was moved to an emeritus role at NBC Sports (https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/al-michaels-nbc-sports-emeritus-deal-1235276587/) following his departure from the Sunday Night Football booth after calling the Super Bowl in 2022. As Marchand notes, "there has long been tension between Michaels and top NBC executives, though they have done their best to hide it from public view, even giving Michaels an emeritus title when he was replaced. There was a failure to truly define what the emeritus role really meant, except for calling the playoff game." Michaels' association with NBC goes all the way back to 1971, but he joined NBC Sports from ABC in 2006 when NFL's top primetime package became Sunday Night Football on NBC. ALSO: Why NBC is making the right decision (https://www.thebiglead.com/posts/al-michaels-nbc-nfl-playoff-game-peacock-decision-01hhf889gna3).

Al Michaels and NBC’s relationship has reportedly been strained for awhile (https://awfulannouncing.com/nbc/al-michaels-relationship-strained.html)

"I think that's what's lost in all of this, is at the end with NBC, there weren't good relations."

...after he was dragged for his lifeless call of an epic playoff comeback last season, NBC has decided to drop the 79-year-old Michaels and replace him with Noah Eagle, the 27-year-old son of top sports broadcaster Ian Eagle.

During an early November interview with The Post, Michaels said he believed that he was still going to call the game on NBC, but did not know whom he would be working with. When informed by The Post about it being in limbo, Michaels sounded unaware of the possibility.

As Marchand notes, "there has long been tension between Michaels and top NBC executives, though they have done their best to hide it from public view, even giving Michaels an emeritus title when he was replaced. There was a failure to truly define what the emeritus role really meant, except for calling the playoff game."

Why NBC is making the right decision.

If I was a respected football commentator, I would hate for this to be something I'd have to deal with towards the end of my career. I mean, what if Al Michaels announces his retirement from sports commentating and NBC still denies him an opportunity to call one last NFL playoff game or Super Bowl?

That must have been some falling-out. I would have thought they would have waited until the end of the season to let him go.