Courtesy MLB.com

(September 30, 2009) As ESPN announced Tuesday that Bobby Valentine will rejoin its MLB coverage, he admitted the new job is just a pit stop on the road to something bigger. Valentine, who says he won "national and international" ballroom as a teen says the "only reason" he'll rejoin ESPN's Baseball Tonight next month is to help him get a shot at ABC's Dancing with the Stars.

He's kidding. Presumably. But Valentine, who managed the New York Mets and Texas Rangers and most recently the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan's Pacific League, joins the coaches-turned-analysts seen as potentially temporary TV hires. Valentine says it's "fair to assume" he's interested in managing and there's "probably" some clause in his new ESPN deal, like one in his 2003 ESPN contract, that would charge a penalty fee if he leaves. ESPN executive Norby Williamson knows it's possible: Teams "would be crazy not to approach Bobby to manage."

Theoretically, a TV analyst hoping for a shot to get back in the game might be conniving, or less than candid, on-air. Though assumed to have NFL jobs prospects, ex-coaches such as ESPN's Jon Gruden, CBS' Bill Cowher, Fox's Brian Billick and NBC's Tony Dungy are now among the more pointed NFL TV analysts. TNT's Jeff Van Gundy, who could coach again, is one of the best NBA TV analysts.

But so is TNT's Doug Collins, who's presumably finished coaching. And some ex-coaches clearly done — ESPN's Lee Corso or, for decades, John Madden— are top-tier. With ex-coaches on TV, it's sort of the opposite of real life. It's all about what you say — not what you'll do.

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