Theismann looking forward to Jets-Bengals telecast

It has been a quarter-century since Joe Theismann spent three hours in a confined space with Joe Gibbs, when the former was a quarterback in a meeting room and the latter was his coach.

When the former Redskins reunite on NBC for Saturday's Jets-Bengals wild-card game, much will have changed. "This time he has to listen to me,'' Theismann said with a laugh Monday.

Gibbs is anticipating that but is prepared for what is to come. "I think I spent half of my career saying, 'Joe, shut up,' '' he told SI.com recently, also laughing.

Some fans felt the same way about the famously loquacious Theismann during his 20 years analyzing games on CBS and, most notably, on ESPN on Sunday nights from 1988-2005.

But in the three years since ESPN removed him after its first season of "Monday Night Football,'' he mostly has been quiet on the national TV stage.

Theismann joined the NFL Network this season for its X's-and-O's-heavy "Playbook,'' which has kept him up to date with the league but offers a fraction of the visibility he once had. Now he's back, albeit for only one afternoon, and insistent that whatever bitterness he initially felt at being dumped by ESPN has faded.

"It was the first time I'd ever been fired, but it wasn't the first time I've had something taken away that was very important to me,'' he said, referring to Lawrence Taylor breaking his leg and ending his career in 1985. "What's the sense of crying over spilled milk?''

That doesn't mean Theismann, 60, is beyond keeping an eye on his old time slot on ESPN. When he was removed, he said he was told he was too focused on football for a telecast that sought to recapture the magic of the 1970s with Tony Kornheiser, whose jokes Theismann seemed not to get - or did not want to get.

Yes, he has noted that after replacing Kornheiser with Jon Gruden, the show has a strong X's-and-O's orientation. "It appeared to me they wanted to focus a lot on Tony and bringing a different element to the broadcast and that's the way they went for a few years,'' he said.

Now?

"It is about football. I enjoy the show a lot. Everybody adds a wonderful dimension to it.''

Theismann hopes the former quarterback/former coach dynamic will work for him and Gibbs the way it does for Ron Jaworski and Gruden.

Gibbs has far less TV experience than Theismann, but they have remained friendly and hope to make a natural team with Tom Hammond in a trio assembled only in the past month or so.

Might this be a foot in the door for a return to more regular game analysis? NBC needs a second announcing team only one day a year, but Theismann said he would be open to talking to any media entity interested.

"I'm not looking at this saying, 'Wow, now people will get a chance to see me again,' '' he said. "It's an opportunity to do the first playoff game and get a chance to work with a man I respect so much.''

ESPN gave Theismann a chance to work college games after he left "Monday Night Football,'' but he was determined to stick with the NFL, which is closer to his heart and experience. Now he's back in the national spotlight, working a game featuring a team representing the nation's most important media market.

If nothing else, fans - like him or not - will be reminded he still is out there, alive and talking.

"He lives!'' Theismann said. "I feel a little like Frankenstein.''