Bryant Gumbel, who served as the play-by-play announcer for the first two years of NFL Network’s in-house coverage of regular-season games, is leaving the position.

“I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to call NFL Network games the past two years, which was a new experience for me,” Gumbel said in a release.  “But we’ve agreed that we’d all be better served going in different directions.  There are a lot of talented people at NFL Network.  I thank them, I wish them well, and I have no doubt that they will be very successful going forward.”

“We appreciate everything Bryant did in helping us launch our NFL Network game telecasts,” said NFL Network President and CEO Steve Bornstein.  “Bryant helped create interest in our first foray into televising NFL regular-season games.  He is one of the great broadcasters of our time and we are honored to have worked with him.”

One of the ways that Gumbel helped “create interest” was to tee off on NFLPA Executive Director Gene Upshaw.  In August 2006, Gumbel gave the following advice to then-incoming NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Gumbel’s HBO program, Real Sports.

“Before he cleans out his office,” Gumbel said, “have Paul Tagliabue show you where he keeps Gene Upshaw’s leash.  By making the docile head of the players union his personal pet, your predecessor has kept the peace without giving players the kind of guarantees other pros take for granted.  Try to make sure no one competent ever replaces Upshaw on your watch.”

Now that Gumbel has one less job, maybe he’s the guy to replace Upshaw.

And now that Gumbel is gone, maybe they’ll find someone to replace him with a slightly deeper voice.

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