'College GameDay' Lead Producer Jim Gaiero Abruptly Leaves Show
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With the 2026 college football set to begin this weekend, “College GameDay” is reportedly making a change to its staff.
Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee and Nick Saban will be back for the 40th season of “College GameDay.” While the on-air crew will remain the same, it’s being reported that lead producer Jim Gaiero has been taken off the show.
Awful Announcing is reporting that “College GameDay” members have been informed about Gaiero leaving the crew. He’s being replaced by Matthew Garrett, the vice president of production at ESPN.
According to Awful Announcing, the plan is for Gaiero to have a new role at ESPN.
“Gaiero’s role at ESPN is expected to shift to help deepen the network’s college football event producer bench. He’s also expected to take a significant role on ESPN’s production prep for the network’s Super Bowl in February, where he’ll contribute to pregame studio programming,” Awful Announcing reported. “Gaiero has been with ESPN for over 30 years, joining the network in 1995. In addition to his GameDay role, Gaiero produces college football and basketball games for ESPN, along with NBA Draft and PGA Championship coverage. Previously, Gaiero was a lead producer on ESPN’s NASCAR coverage until the network lost rights to the motorsport in 2014.”
The first three locations for”College GameDay” have been set.
“College GameDay” will be in Baton Rouge during Week 1 to cover a showdown between Clemson and LSU.
Week 2 will be centered around a non-conference matchup between Ohio State and Texas. Who knows? That might be a College Football Playoff preview.
In Week 3, Herbstreit and the “College GameDay” crew will head over to Oxford to preview what should be an awesome showdown between LSU and Ole Miss. There’s no question fans will be booing Lane Kiffin the moment he runs onto the field.
This story was originally published by The Spun on Aug 26, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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