Sunday Night Football is one of the most watched shows in the country every week. However, the show will look slightly different for the rest of the season.
Maria Taylor, the host of the NFL show since 2022, has left on maternity leave and will not be back until next season. She will be replaced by Ahmed Fareed. Who is he?
Who Is Ahmed Fareed, the Maria Taylor Replacement?
In Week 15, it was announced that Taylor would be leaving the show for the remainder of the season. She is expected to have a baby boy with her husband, John, in January.
It's a boy 💙 @MariaTaylor pic.twitter.com/I2Uc5wz6ZA
— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) December 18, 2023
Her final game was the Baltimore Ravens at Jacksonville Jaguars, which ended in a Ravens victory.
Following Taylor’s leave, NBC announced she would be replaced by Fareed, who has filled in for her in the past.
Fareed is a native of Sparta, Michigan, where he attended Sparta High School, playing quarterback for the football team. He went on to attend Michigan State for one year before transferring to Syracuse University. He graduated from Syracuse in 2002 with a degree in Broadcast Journalism.
He started his professional career at WXMI-TV for one year. He then became a weekend sports anchor for WILX-TV and WSYM-TV in Lansing, Michigan. His first major sports job came when he joined the MLB Network from 2011 to 2012, appearing on MLB Tonight and Quick Pitch.
Fareed has also served as a studio host on NBCSN and Olympic Channel for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He also served as a studio host on USA Network and NBCSN for the 2016 Summer and 2018 Winter Olympic Games.
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In 2022, Fareed moved on to being a field reporter for MLB games on Peacock. He also hosted the 2022 Golden Goggle Awards in November 2022.
Currently, Fareed is a co-host on College Countdown. The NBC pregame show includes coverage of both college football and basketball. It also has horse racing and Premier League coverage.
When it comes to Sunday Night Football, Fareed most recently filled in during the 2020 season, when Mike Tirico filled in for Al Michaels and Liam McHugh was unavailable to host.
Fareed’s first show will come when he hosts the pregame show, beginning on Saturday, Dec. 23, when NBC Sports airs a doubleheader of the Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals (4:30 p.m. ET on NBC) and Los Angeles Chargers at Buffalo Bills (8 p.m. ET on Peacock).
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