ESPN Employees Heartbroken By Sudden Death Of Longtime Coworker

The ESPN family is mourning the loss of a longtime employee on Thursday.

Longtime ESPN technical director Dean Ellington died suddenly on Tuesday night. His death was announced on Thursday morning by Get Up! host Mike Greenberg.

"He died suddenly on Tuesday night," Greenberg said. "Whenever a new technical person started on our crew, it was Dean who taught them. Whenever anyone had a question, it was Dean who answered.

"He worked on College GameDay, on the NFL Draft, on SportsCenter and here on Get Up."

Tributes for Ellington have been pouring in on social media.

"What a guy. What a teammate. It's hard to even imagine the idea of our SEC Network Saturdays without him," Ryan McGee wrote.

"Dean was the best of the best. A true friend. He was the backbone of the College GameDay truck for years. Always had a smile on his face. Love you Dean. I’ll miss you my brother," Jim Gaiero added.

"Heartbroken. I don’t have words. I loved being Dean’s teammate. We all did," Amanda Brooks wrote.

"A devastating loss for the ESPN family. Dean was a tremendous person and professional. A gentile soul who was driven to be the absolute best at his craft and as a colleague which in turn made all of us better. RIP," Ashok Moore added.

"Dean was a joy to work with and will be missed. SEC Nation visits won't be the same without him," Jessica Pare wrote.