I understand the dislike for Verne because he would get tongue-tied (Kudos for the Malaprops reference earlier, BTW) or come across as obnoxious. However, his laughter and his enthusiasm are infectious, and I'm not sure I've ever seen another announcer this side of Keith Jackson who could/can manage that. I'm in the group that really likes the Nessler/Blackledge combo, but I really think Gary is at least as good as (albeit slightly more annoying than) Blackledge, and Nessler would probably do a great job tying things together. It will be a much more buttoned-down affair, and as hilariously awful as Verne might say something, it would at least be hilarious and his goofy acknowledgement of the mistake usually makes it forgivable to me. There are definitely times when it feels like he and Gary are biased against Alabama, but as Selma said, when everyone feels like that it means they're a lot less biased than other groups.
I guess you could say he's the anti-Galloway or the anti-Kannell. That's worth a LOT to me!