Is John Lynch the Best Choice to Replace Troy Aikman as Fox's Lead Analyst?

Is John Lynch on his way out of Santa Clara?

According to the New York Post, Lynch could be one of the final candidates to replace Troy Aikman as Fox's lead analyst. Aikman recently took the same position with ESPN to announce Monday Night Football games, and Lynch was Fox's No. 2 analyst before he became the 49ers general manager in 2017.

In addition to Lynch, the other candidates at Fox reportedly are Sean McVay, Sean Peyton and Drew Brees.

Here's how I would rank Fox's choices from worst to best.

4. Drew Brees.

Brees is last on this list because we've experienced his work as an announcer, and it's not good. He currently is an announcer for NBC, and so far, he sounds nervous, overly diplomatic and not particularly insightful. As opposed to Aikman, who's extremely insightful and critical when necessary.

3. Sean McVay.

I've never heard McVay announce a game, but I've heard him host a podcast and answer questions in press conferences, and I enjoy listening to him talk about football. He has a phenomenal memory and understands Xs and O's as well as anyone. He even models his speech patterns after former Monday Night Football analyst Jon Gruden. But I wasn't a fan of Gruden's announcing, because he made it seem like every player, coach, team and organization was the greatest. Clearly, he wanted to return to the NFL, so he didn't want to alienate anyone with his announcing, which made him boring. I fear McVay would be the same way.

2. Sean Payton.

Like McVay, Payton never has announced a game, so I'm guessing here. But Payton is just as bright as McVay, and much older, so he might not want to return to coaching. Which mean s his analysis has the potential to be much more candid than McVay's.

1. John Lynch.

We've heard Lynch announce before, and he's outstanding. He's smart, articulate, has a soothing voice, can explain the game in layman's terms and has the gravitas of being a Hall of Fame player and now a successful general manager. Lynch is the total package as a television analyst, and a natural to replace Aikman in the booth. Don't be surprised if Lynch takes the job. It would be a huge raise for him.