So when the new NBA TV deal comes up in a couple years, Disney gonna have what? Like 1 minute half time shows and 14 minutes of commercials?
Say Goodbye to those ESPN Personalities Ya'll Love So Much: Official ESPN Layoffs Thread
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If they try to Kenny Mayne him, then they’re intentionally trying to get rid of him by making an offer that you know he won't accept.
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Ariel Helwani is returning to MMA Fighting and The MMA Hour, in addition to new roles with Spotify, BT, and Substack
Must have taken note of SAS work ethic and wanted that same type of work schedule
Must have taken note of SAS work ethic and wanted that same type of work schedule
Damn this was a crazy article (ESPN & Greeny are trifling)
Nearly six months have passed since Mike Golic last appeared on ESPN’s airwaves. That Golic isn’t at ESPN still takes some getting used to given he spent a quarter-century as an ESPN Radio host and NFL and college football analyst for the company, including nearly 18 years as the co-host of the “Mike & Mike” radio show. That program ended in May 2017 with an acrimonious breakup.
Golic’s co-host, Mike Greenberg, went on to front the morning television show “Get Up!” (which premiered in April 2018) while Golic stayed on the ESPN Radio morning show and formed a new partnership with Trey Wingo, and Golic’s son, Mike Golic Jr. Last July, ESPN management announced that “Golic and Wingo” would conclude its run on July 31 before a new weekday lineup debuted last August. ESPN Radio’s new national morning show now features Keyshawn Johnson, Jay Williams and longtime SportsCenter host Zubin Mehenti.
No matter how you felt about their content or soft interviewing style, “Mike & Mike” earned respect for its longevity. What started as a morning radio show on Jan. 3, 2000, soon became a television simulcast and one of the company’s most successful on-air enterprises. They gave countless ESPNers significant opportunities to promote their on-air work. They are unquestionably one of the most successful sports radio pairings of all time.
The next chapter of Golic’s professional life is about to begin. He has a number of projects on tap including working in the podcast space. Golic was a guest this week on my Sports Media Podcast, where he discussed the end of his ESPN run, what’s coming next, and the end of “Mike & Mike.” Here is an edited version of our talk.
I believe your final day on ESPN’s campus as an employee was Dec. 22, 2020, even though you had some college football assignments afterwards. We are now in June. What have the last six months or so been like for you?
Golic: You are right. It was Dec. 22. My last gig I did was the Fiesta Bowl in Arizona with Dave Pasch (on Jan. 2). … The last person I saw at ESPN, and he was sitting in my office was my son, Mike. So I thought that was that was kind of poetic justice. The last person I see after working there for years is a kid who was 10 years old when I first got here. That was pretty wild.
In all honesty, I have enjoyed this time off. I always knew I was going to get back into something. My agent (Lou Oppenheim of ICM Partners) basically told me when it ended in January that I had the choice of doing absolutely nothing. … He said I could do nothing, do partial things that I enjoy, or I could jump back in with both feet and have at it. When I was done at ESPN, I had just turned 58 and my wife said you’re not going to want to not do anything and just sit around. So I’m going to do something. But I did take my sweet old damn time in getting there. It probably took me three weeks to get out of the 4:15 a.m. wake-up mode. I’ve normalized to like 7:30 or 7:45 a.m. which has been nice. I go to bed later. Unbelievably, I’ve been watching the NBA playoffs and actually watching the 10 or 10:30 p.m. game in its entirety. That’s something I was never able to do while I was doing a morning show.
… So at this point, I’m deciding between a couple of different podcasts, a couple of different college football things, and something that I think will be a lot of fun. It’s not in the sports world, though it will involve some sports people. It will involve traveling to their hometowns. That’s one of those things my agent talked about, doing those fun things. Fun to me is college football, and I love doing it. I will do that again. It just a matter of how this other project goes. I should find out pretty soon. It’s getting there, but not just yet. I think that’s going to be a lot of fun. I do know that if you’re going to get going, you better be going by football season. I thought of doing something a little bit earlier but I’m not going to lie: I have enjoyed having my own schedule and doing nothing. But I do miss talking.
Let me ask you a very open-ended question to start this. Why are you no longer at ESPN from your perspective?
Golic: Listen, this has been the easiest thing for me to equate, and I equate a lot of things to the sports world which certainly works here given I was in the sports industry. I got cut from the Houston Oilers. I got cut from the Miami Dolphins. The reason was they didn’t want me anymore. It’s that simple. They didn’t feel I had worth to their team. So they cut me. I thought they were wrong in both instances, but it doesn’t matter what I think. When they call you into the GM or head coach’s office and say they are releasing you, they’re going to release you. There’s no sense in saying I could do this or that. They’ve made their decision. With ESPN it was the same thing.
When “Mike & Mike” ended, they still felt there was value to having me there. That’s why the new morning show with me and Trey and my son got going. But after that deal was up and that contract was up, they just felt there wasn’t any more worth. And that’s not even from a monetary point because they didn’t even talk to me about taking less money. We knew everybody was taking pay cuts. They didn’t even talk about that. When the show ended on July 31, they were just going to let me sit there for six months and collect a paycheck. I said, no, let me go and call college games. I love doing college. They were like, “Well, OK, I guess he wants to work, and he’s going to get paid anyway, so, yeah, we’ll have him do college games.”
So I did that, and we went back to then (talking) about doing college games (going forward). Their last conversation with my agent was, “No, we don’t want it.” We were like, “Not even to talk about it? We know you can’t pay much.” Nothing. It was just no. So they’re just like those teams that cut me. Those teams felt I had no more worth to them, and ESPN felt the same way. Is it a blow to the ego? Sure. For anybody it would be. When you’re there for as long as you are and all of a sudden it’s not even discussed to keep you there, yeah, that’s a blow to the ego. But that’s life. I can’t sit here and cry about it. You move on, you know. It was a nice break, and other people want me to do some things and I’ll eventually go do that. But that’s why it ended.
I asked this of Trey Wingo when he was on my podcast. My thesis was there is a strong argument to be made that goes like this: Why would you remove Mike Golic from the morning spot given all the equity he’s built up with the audience? He’s far and away the most well-known person there and he’s built a relationship with that specific audience. It would seem to be a no-brainer to create a brand around Mike Golic on ESPN Radio even if it’s not in the morning. What am I missing here from management? They have a known quantity and you just told me money would not have been an issue. Is it really just certain management people decided we don’t want Mike Golic on ESPN Radio anymore? If that’s the decision, I’ll be blunt. That’s bad business, in my opinion.
Golic: But that’s absolutely what happened, right? I mean, it had to. They knew what I was making obviously with “Mike & Mike” and that went down when I went to do the show with Trey and my son. I knew if I was going to stay there, it would go down again. But like I said, there was never that discussion. The two people I deal with at ESPN (Golic said that was executive vice president of event and studio production Norby Williamson and senior vice president of production Dave Roberts), that’s a question for them. Just what you asked, it would be put to them. Because when I put it to one of them, I said, “Why?” It was like the first response was, “We don’t have to tell you.” I was like, OK (laughs). Then it was, “We just felt it was time for change.” Again, if that’s the reason, if you were to ask them and that would be what they said — “He’s been there 20-some years and we just felt it was time for a change” — OK, listen, that’s their decision. Decisions like that are made all the time. Do I agree with it? No. But again, I wasn’t asked. That may be their answer. Their answer might be we felt he’s been there long enough. We don’t feel he’s worth being here anymore. Obviously they felt that because I’m not there.
(Editor’s note: Upon changing the national ESPN Radio lineup last July, Williamson said, “Our new lineup will provide sports fans informative and engaging content throughout the week from hosts who all have radio experience. They know how to connect with fans and keep them invested in the programming. Our listeners will hear diverse perspectives on key topics from some of the most talented, knowledgeable and contemporary voices in the industry.”)
Golic’s co-host, Mike Greenberg, went on to front the morning television show “Get Up!” (which premiered in April 2018) while Golic stayed on the ESPN Radio morning show and formed a new partnership with Trey Wingo, and Golic’s son, Mike Golic Jr. Last July, ESPN management announced that “Golic and Wingo” would conclude its run on July 31 before a new weekday lineup debuted last August. ESPN Radio’s new national morning show now features Keyshawn Johnson, Jay Williams and longtime SportsCenter host Zubin Mehenti.
No matter how you felt about their content or soft interviewing style, “Mike & Mike” earned respect for its longevity. What started as a morning radio show on Jan. 3, 2000, soon became a television simulcast and one of the company’s most successful on-air enterprises. They gave countless ESPNers significant opportunities to promote their on-air work. They are unquestionably one of the most successful sports radio pairings of all time.
The next chapter of Golic’s professional life is about to begin. He has a number of projects on tap including working in the podcast space. Golic was a guest this week on my Sports Media Podcast, where he discussed the end of his ESPN run, what’s coming next, and the end of “Mike & Mike.” Here is an edited version of our talk.
I believe your final day on ESPN’s campus as an employee was Dec. 22, 2020, even though you had some college football assignments afterwards. We are now in June. What have the last six months or so been like for you?
Golic: You are right. It was Dec. 22. My last gig I did was the Fiesta Bowl in Arizona with Dave Pasch (on Jan. 2). … The last person I saw at ESPN, and he was sitting in my office was my son, Mike. So I thought that was that was kind of poetic justice. The last person I see after working there for years is a kid who was 10 years old when I first got here. That was pretty wild.
In all honesty, I have enjoyed this time off. I always knew I was going to get back into something. My agent (Lou Oppenheim of ICM Partners) basically told me when it ended in January that I had the choice of doing absolutely nothing. … He said I could do nothing, do partial things that I enjoy, or I could jump back in with both feet and have at it. When I was done at ESPN, I had just turned 58 and my wife said you’re not going to want to not do anything and just sit around. So I’m going to do something. But I did take my sweet old damn time in getting there. It probably took me three weeks to get out of the 4:15 a.m. wake-up mode. I’ve normalized to like 7:30 or 7:45 a.m. which has been nice. I go to bed later. Unbelievably, I’ve been watching the NBA playoffs and actually watching the 10 or 10:30 p.m. game in its entirety. That’s something I was never able to do while I was doing a morning show.
… So at this point, I’m deciding between a couple of different podcasts, a couple of different college football things, and something that I think will be a lot of fun. It’s not in the sports world, though it will involve some sports people. It will involve traveling to their hometowns. That’s one of those things my agent talked about, doing those fun things. Fun to me is college football, and I love doing it. I will do that again. It just a matter of how this other project goes. I should find out pretty soon. It’s getting there, but not just yet. I think that’s going to be a lot of fun. I do know that if you’re going to get going, you better be going by football season. I thought of doing something a little bit earlier but I’m not going to lie: I have enjoyed having my own schedule and doing nothing. But I do miss talking.
Let me ask you a very open-ended question to start this. Why are you no longer at ESPN from your perspective?
Golic: Listen, this has been the easiest thing for me to equate, and I equate a lot of things to the sports world which certainly works here given I was in the sports industry. I got cut from the Houston Oilers. I got cut from the Miami Dolphins. The reason was they didn’t want me anymore. It’s that simple. They didn’t feel I had worth to their team. So they cut me. I thought they were wrong in both instances, but it doesn’t matter what I think. When they call you into the GM or head coach’s office and say they are releasing you, they’re going to release you. There’s no sense in saying I could do this or that. They’ve made their decision. With ESPN it was the same thing.
When “Mike & Mike” ended, they still felt there was value to having me there. That’s why the new morning show with me and Trey and my son got going. But after that deal was up and that contract was up, they just felt there wasn’t any more worth. And that’s not even from a monetary point because they didn’t even talk to me about taking less money. We knew everybody was taking pay cuts. They didn’t even talk about that. When the show ended on July 31, they were just going to let me sit there for six months and collect a paycheck. I said, no, let me go and call college games. I love doing college. They were like, “Well, OK, I guess he wants to work, and he’s going to get paid anyway, so, yeah, we’ll have him do college games.”
So I did that, and we went back to then (talking) about doing college games (going forward). Their last conversation with my agent was, “No, we don’t want it.” We were like, “Not even to talk about it? We know you can’t pay much.” Nothing. It was just no. So they’re just like those teams that cut me. Those teams felt I had no more worth to them, and ESPN felt the same way. Is it a blow to the ego? Sure. For anybody it would be. When you’re there for as long as you are and all of a sudden it’s not even discussed to keep you there, yeah, that’s a blow to the ego. But that’s life. I can’t sit here and cry about it. You move on, you know. It was a nice break, and other people want me to do some things and I’ll eventually go do that. But that’s why it ended.
I asked this of Trey Wingo when he was on my podcast. My thesis was there is a strong argument to be made that goes like this: Why would you remove Mike Golic from the morning spot given all the equity he’s built up with the audience? He’s far and away the most well-known person there and he’s built a relationship with that specific audience. It would seem to be a no-brainer to create a brand around Mike Golic on ESPN Radio even if it’s not in the morning. What am I missing here from management? They have a known quantity and you just told me money would not have been an issue. Is it really just certain management people decided we don’t want Mike Golic on ESPN Radio anymore? If that’s the decision, I’ll be blunt. That’s bad business, in my opinion.
Golic: But that’s absolutely what happened, right? I mean, it had to. They knew what I was making obviously with “Mike & Mike” and that went down when I went to do the show with Trey and my son. I knew if I was going to stay there, it would go down again. But like I said, there was never that discussion. The two people I deal with at ESPN (Golic said that was executive vice president of event and studio production Norby Williamson and senior vice president of production Dave Roberts), that’s a question for them. Just what you asked, it would be put to them. Because when I put it to one of them, I said, “Why?” It was like the first response was, “We don’t have to tell you.” I was like, OK (laughs). Then it was, “We just felt it was time for change.” Again, if that’s the reason, if you were to ask them and that would be what they said — “He’s been there 20-some years and we just felt it was time for a change” — OK, listen, that’s their decision. Decisions like that are made all the time. Do I agree with it? No. But again, I wasn’t asked. That may be their answer. Their answer might be we felt he’s been there long enough. We don’t feel he’s worth being here anymore. Obviously they felt that because I’m not there.
(Editor’s note: Upon changing the national ESPN Radio lineup last July, Williamson said, “Our new lineup will provide sports fans informative and engaging content throughout the week from hosts who all have radio experience. They know how to connect with fans and keep them invested in the programming. Our listeners will hear diverse perspectives on key topics from some of the most talented, knowledgeable and contemporary voices in the industry.”)
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You were in an interesting situation because not only were you a longtime employee at ESPN coming to the end of a contract but your son is there and he’s got a nice career going. He co-hosts a prominent ESPN Radio showwith Chiney Ogwumike. I would imagine just as a father you don’t want to create any kind of negative news cycle that theoretically could impact your kid. Did you have to navigate this judiciously because Mike Jr. is there and you don’t want your situation to potentially cause any kind of issue with him?
Golic: Sure. Without question. I mean, I think any father, any parent, would be doing something like that for their kid. Whether it would have created something bad for him or not, I don’t know the answer to that. But I certainly didn’t want to take that chance.
… When Mike first got the gig there and was doing 4 to 6 a.m. before me and Greeny were doing our show, and then he jumped on with Trey and I, he was the first to always diffuse the situation of the old nepotism thing. He understands he got the chance because of the last name and connections. Whether it’s college connections, family connections, whatever, that happens all the time. I’m not going to sit there and say it doesn’t. It does. But we’re also in a world where there is no way Mike is still on the air unless Mike isn’t doing a good job. If all of life worked on connections, both Mike and Jake (his other son) would still be playing in the NFL because I played in the NFL for nine years. But it doesn’t work that way.
So you may be able to get in the door or crack the door open and have a chance, but then you have to do your thing. And Mike has done it time and time again on radio and TV to prove his worth for being there. But that being said, I still would never want to create a situation that could look bad. Do I know if it would have had an effect on Mike? I have no idea. At the end of the day, you’re still dealing with human beings who can take things personally or hold grudges.
Did you have any inkling that this would ultimately be what happened, or were you working under the premise that, “OK, if Trey’s not there, then they’re going to give me another partner and I’ll make it work with another partner?”
Golic: Oh, I definitely thought I was going to keep going. When “Mike & Mike” ended, they were talking about the next host and they asked me for my input, which is interesting. I’ve been asked for my input a lot over the years, but it never seemed to work for my employers (laughs). But again, that’s their decision, not mine. They brought up Trey’s name. I had known Trey since 2003 because we did “NFL Live” together. … So I know him and we get along well. Jason Fitz had been filling in a lot then and it was Jason, me and my son, Mike.
One thing I did tell them was Stugotz (Jon Weiner) was someone I enjoyed working with a lot. It was to the point where I actually called Dan Le Batard and I said, “Listen, I’m going to keep pursuing this with Jason Fitz and obviously they are talking with Trey and that’s cool, but I want to get Stu in the mix as well. But I don’t want this to be like I’m poaching your partner. I need you to say, ‘Hey, that’s cool. Stu still can do it.’” Dan was great about it. He said if that’s something that Stu wants to do, I am more than happy if he wants to go do it. So I made sure I did that.
(Former ESPN audio head) Traug Keller was still running radio then and I was told that they decided to go the safest route, which was Trey, because Trey was obviously a well-known commodity and a true pro at what he does. I mean, he kills it with the NFL and football is obviously king. I was fine with it, and I would have been fine with any one of those guys. But, yeah, it didn’t take long behind the scenes for Trey to let us know he didn’t like the mornings (laughs). I think he’d even admitted it probably wasn’t in his best interest to let everybody else know that as well. I think he had talked about that kind of publicly or even to the bosses and unfortunately I don’t know if that helped him in the long run. In his eyes he was probably like, “Hey, I’m just being honest here.” And he was. He was very honest before his contract was up with the powers that be. He said, “Listen, when this (his contract) is over, I just don’t like these hours.” He was very forthright with them. Their end game for him was I guess, that’s it. You’re done here at ESPN.
When they were going to end me, Trey and Mike, it was decided kind of during the pandemic. I remember writing an email to (ESPN chairman) Jimmy (Pitaro), Norby and Dave and I said, “Listen, guys, I get you may be done with me and this show. But let me put this out there. We’re in a pandemic right now. The world’s kind of upside down.” This was last March or April. “We know Trey doesn’t want to do this anymore so he’s going to going to leave this show,” I said. “Because it’s a pandemic, nobody’s traveling anywhere. Why don’t we just keep some consistency and have me, Mike and Jason Fitz do it?” Because Jason had filled in a ton. Nobody was traveling. Me, Mike and Trey we’re doing it in our basement. Jason could have filled the slot, and let’s just keep the consistency until we’re through this thing next year, which would have been right around this time.
… When we started the new show with Trey and Mike, radio traveled us everywhere to the affiliates. Me and Trey and Mike all were very well known, especially Trey and I, but we were marketed out to the affiliates on how this was going to be the new show, to ramp it up, and give it some juice. So I said if you have a whole new show it certainly isn’t fair to them. They can’t do any of that. It turned out to be Zubin, J-Will and Keyshawn and they didn’t get the benefit of any of that. I felt like they got put behind the 8-ball of not being able to travel and get in front of the affiliates and do Q&As with listeners and all of that. Was it also self-serving where I was going to continue to have a show? Yes. But I remember me, Trey and Mike going all over the place to talk to and meet people and slap backs and shake hands. These guys didn’t get to do that at all.
So I said let me, Mike and Jason go for a year. Let us go from April or May until next April or May or June. If you still feel the need to change it, then you are at the point where you can travel around a little more to meet some people and ramp up the new show. I got a response back from one of them that said, “Thanks for your input.” That was it. Self-serving? Yes, to the point where I still wanted to do a show and I thought that would still be a good show. People are like, “Oh, you do not like the new morning guys?” No, (that’s) not (it) at all. There was an opportunity there and those guys took advantage of it and they’re doing their thing. I think they got screwed a bit by not being able to go out and identify with the different affiliates and fan bases. You’re also doing it during a pandemic. I thought it was a very, very tough time to start a completely brand new show.
Does the success of former ESPNers finding success after ESPN provide you with inspiration or incentive?
Golic: What it shows me is that there are unbelievably talented people at ESPN still. But what it also shows is that is those people are talented enough to where when ESPN doesn’t want them anymore, or they choose to leave ESPN, they’re still showing their talent. They still have the talent to go on and succeed in today’s sports world. There’s a hell of a lot more that is out there that can be competitive to where there are people that are choosing to leave ESPN because they think they’re going to have a better opportunity. Some do, some don’t. It just confirms to me the talent of these people that that are gone from ESPN. They have ability to still be successful because they’re just flat-out good.
… Is that a motivation for me? No, it never was. First for me has always been family. I’m going to do what’s best for me and my family. Do I want to still be involved in sports? Yes. People might say if you’re doing college football, you want to be on TV. Well, I might be on radio. I don’t care if it’s on TV. I just love calling college games. I keep going back to my agent who says to do what you love to do. The one thing you can do when you leave ESPN is you can explore other areas that you really couldn’t do while you were at ESPN. As I mentioned earlier, this show I may be doing — and I wish it was in stone so I could tell you about it — it’s something I couldn’t do when I was at ESPN. But now I can. I did a pilot for it and it was a ball. It was a ton of fun. So it does actually give you a little more freedom if you choose to go down a different path.
Golic: Sure. Without question. I mean, I think any father, any parent, would be doing something like that for their kid. Whether it would have created something bad for him or not, I don’t know the answer to that. But I certainly didn’t want to take that chance.
… When Mike first got the gig there and was doing 4 to 6 a.m. before me and Greeny were doing our show, and then he jumped on with Trey and I, he was the first to always diffuse the situation of the old nepotism thing. He understands he got the chance because of the last name and connections. Whether it’s college connections, family connections, whatever, that happens all the time. I’m not going to sit there and say it doesn’t. It does. But we’re also in a world where there is no way Mike is still on the air unless Mike isn’t doing a good job. If all of life worked on connections, both Mike and Jake (his other son) would still be playing in the NFL because I played in the NFL for nine years. But it doesn’t work that way.
So you may be able to get in the door or crack the door open and have a chance, but then you have to do your thing. And Mike has done it time and time again on radio and TV to prove his worth for being there. But that being said, I still would never want to create a situation that could look bad. Do I know if it would have had an effect on Mike? I have no idea. At the end of the day, you’re still dealing with human beings who can take things personally or hold grudges.
Did you have any inkling that this would ultimately be what happened, or were you working under the premise that, “OK, if Trey’s not there, then they’re going to give me another partner and I’ll make it work with another partner?”
Golic: Oh, I definitely thought I was going to keep going. When “Mike & Mike” ended, they were talking about the next host and they asked me for my input, which is interesting. I’ve been asked for my input a lot over the years, but it never seemed to work for my employers (laughs). But again, that’s their decision, not mine. They brought up Trey’s name. I had known Trey since 2003 because we did “NFL Live” together. … So I know him and we get along well. Jason Fitz had been filling in a lot then and it was Jason, me and my son, Mike.
One thing I did tell them was Stugotz (Jon Weiner) was someone I enjoyed working with a lot. It was to the point where I actually called Dan Le Batard and I said, “Listen, I’m going to keep pursuing this with Jason Fitz and obviously they are talking with Trey and that’s cool, but I want to get Stu in the mix as well. But I don’t want this to be like I’m poaching your partner. I need you to say, ‘Hey, that’s cool. Stu still can do it.’” Dan was great about it. He said if that’s something that Stu wants to do, I am more than happy if he wants to go do it. So I made sure I did that.
(Former ESPN audio head) Traug Keller was still running radio then and I was told that they decided to go the safest route, which was Trey, because Trey was obviously a well-known commodity and a true pro at what he does. I mean, he kills it with the NFL and football is obviously king. I was fine with it, and I would have been fine with any one of those guys. But, yeah, it didn’t take long behind the scenes for Trey to let us know he didn’t like the mornings (laughs). I think he’d even admitted it probably wasn’t in his best interest to let everybody else know that as well. I think he had talked about that kind of publicly or even to the bosses and unfortunately I don’t know if that helped him in the long run. In his eyes he was probably like, “Hey, I’m just being honest here.” And he was. He was very honest before his contract was up with the powers that be. He said, “Listen, when this (his contract) is over, I just don’t like these hours.” He was very forthright with them. Their end game for him was I guess, that’s it. You’re done here at ESPN.
When they were going to end me, Trey and Mike, it was decided kind of during the pandemic. I remember writing an email to (ESPN chairman) Jimmy (Pitaro), Norby and Dave and I said, “Listen, guys, I get you may be done with me and this show. But let me put this out there. We’re in a pandemic right now. The world’s kind of upside down.” This was last March or April. “We know Trey doesn’t want to do this anymore so he’s going to going to leave this show,” I said. “Because it’s a pandemic, nobody’s traveling anywhere. Why don’t we just keep some consistency and have me, Mike and Jason Fitz do it?” Because Jason had filled in a ton. Nobody was traveling. Me, Mike and Trey we’re doing it in our basement. Jason could have filled the slot, and let’s just keep the consistency until we’re through this thing next year, which would have been right around this time.
… When we started the new show with Trey and Mike, radio traveled us everywhere to the affiliates. Me and Trey and Mike all were very well known, especially Trey and I, but we were marketed out to the affiliates on how this was going to be the new show, to ramp it up, and give it some juice. So I said if you have a whole new show it certainly isn’t fair to them. They can’t do any of that. It turned out to be Zubin, J-Will and Keyshawn and they didn’t get the benefit of any of that. I felt like they got put behind the 8-ball of not being able to travel and get in front of the affiliates and do Q&As with listeners and all of that. Was it also self-serving where I was going to continue to have a show? Yes. But I remember me, Trey and Mike going all over the place to talk to and meet people and slap backs and shake hands. These guys didn’t get to do that at all.
So I said let me, Mike and Jason go for a year. Let us go from April or May until next April or May or June. If you still feel the need to change it, then you are at the point where you can travel around a little more to meet some people and ramp up the new show. I got a response back from one of them that said, “Thanks for your input.” That was it. Self-serving? Yes, to the point where I still wanted to do a show and I thought that would still be a good show. People are like, “Oh, you do not like the new morning guys?” No, (that’s) not (it) at all. There was an opportunity there and those guys took advantage of it and they’re doing their thing. I think they got screwed a bit by not being able to go out and identify with the different affiliates and fan bases. You’re also doing it during a pandemic. I thought it was a very, very tough time to start a completely brand new show.
Does the success of former ESPNers finding success after ESPN provide you with inspiration or incentive?
Golic: What it shows me is that there are unbelievably talented people at ESPN still. But what it also shows is that is those people are talented enough to where when ESPN doesn’t want them anymore, or they choose to leave ESPN, they’re still showing their talent. They still have the talent to go on and succeed in today’s sports world. There’s a hell of a lot more that is out there that can be competitive to where there are people that are choosing to leave ESPN because they think they’re going to have a better opportunity. Some do, some don’t. It just confirms to me the talent of these people that that are gone from ESPN. They have ability to still be successful because they’re just flat-out good.
… Is that a motivation for me? No, it never was. First for me has always been family. I’m going to do what’s best for me and my family. Do I want to still be involved in sports? Yes. People might say if you’re doing college football, you want to be on TV. Well, I might be on radio. I don’t care if it’s on TV. I just love calling college games. I keep going back to my agent who says to do what you love to do. The one thing you can do when you leave ESPN is you can explore other areas that you really couldn’t do while you were at ESPN. As I mentioned earlier, this show I may be doing — and I wish it was in stone so I could tell you about it — it’s something I couldn’t do when I was at ESPN. But now I can. I did a pilot for it and it was a ball. It was a ton of fun. So it does actually give you a little more freedom if you choose to go down a different path.
It’s very clear that Mike Greenberg, as he certainly had every right to do, wanted to have his own television presence and had agents that were very connected at the time to ESPN management, and (former ESPN president) John Skipper in particular. Mike got himself a significant raise and a significant star at ESPN. What was left behind, of course, was “Mike & Mike,” one of the most successful radio brands no matter if you like the show or not. Now that it’s four years later, when you reflect back on that, he ultimately made a choice that he thought was best for his career, but there was collateral damage for that choice. I wonder how you feel about this four years later?
Golic: I don’t know if there’s been a misconception about Greeny breaking up “Mike & Mike” or Greeny ruined this and blah, blah blah. You said it and I’ve said it: Greeny had every right to want to go do his own thing. Every right. He wanted to be in New York. He wanted to host his own TV show. He was in a position and he got it. However it all worked out, he got what he wanted and he had every single right to want to do that. There absolutely was tension behind the scenes, and I was actually proud of the way we still did the show, in all honesty. When we were told it was over, it was a year and a half before it actually ended. That’s a long runway to have to deal with what was going on. So let me just say again: Greeny had every single right to want to go do his own thing. But the thing that got me was to not know. There are those who said well, he doesn’t have to tell you. And you know what? They are right. He doesn’t have to tell me.
But I equate it this way. Greeny understands the country club thing. He plays tennis, golf. This is the way I equated it to him. I said, “Greeny, imagine if you and I were tennis partners. We were playing doubles tennis and we got to be really good. We did it for 17, 18 years where that’s all we did and we got really good at it. And then, all of a sudden, you, without really saying anything, got another agent and all of a sudden you were on your own. You became a singles player. You wanted to become a singles player, which is your right. But you kind of just did it. So all of a sudden you are going to become a singles player and your partner was like, wait, what the hell just happened?”
That’s my only issue. We were partners for so long. Just sit me down and say, you know what, Mike, I think we’ve taken this as far as we can go, or as far as I want it to go, because I want to go out on my own. I want to be in New York no matter what. I want to host TV alone. That’s what I want to do. I would have had no problem with that. He has every right to do that. Me personally, and maybe it’s from being in team sports all my life and always thinking of team first, that didn’t seem to be the case. That’s the thing that upset me the most.
You will always be linked to Greenberg because of your long tenure with him on Mike and Mike. Do you have a relationship with him today?
Golic: No, not really. And it’s not all on the way it ended. It’s weird, and I try to explain this as best I can. Greeny and I were certainly friends, no doubt about it. I mean, all the years we did the show and all the traveling we did together. But our lives away from ESPN, we were basically an hour and a half apart. When I started the show, I had three kids. He had none. So we already kind of lived in two different worlds, and quite honestly, I think that’s what made the show as successful as it was. I think a lot of others have agreed and said that. We were very different and we were never around each other outside of the show or outside of when we had to travel for the show. We never hung out. It was never a friendship like that.
Obviously I didn’t like the way things went down, and that’s obviously been well documented. So from that point on, outside of the show, it was never, “Hey, let’s hang out.” We never did that anyway, even though we were certainly friends. Then once it ended kind of the way it ended, there was just again from a geographical situation and just a life situation in general, where our kids were, where our family was, there was just no real reason that we’d really kept in touch with each other. We will see each at Super Bowls and will say, “Hi, how are the kids?” But that’s pretty much it.
(Top photo of Golic at the NFL Draft in April: Steve Luciano / AP)
Golic: I don’t know if there’s been a misconception about Greeny breaking up “Mike & Mike” or Greeny ruined this and blah, blah blah. You said it and I’ve said it: Greeny had every right to want to go do his own thing. Every right. He wanted to be in New York. He wanted to host his own TV show. He was in a position and he got it. However it all worked out, he got what he wanted and he had every single right to want to do that. There absolutely was tension behind the scenes, and I was actually proud of the way we still did the show, in all honesty. When we were told it was over, it was a year and a half before it actually ended. That’s a long runway to have to deal with what was going on. So let me just say again: Greeny had every single right to want to go do his own thing. But the thing that got me was to not know. There are those who said well, he doesn’t have to tell you. And you know what? They are right. He doesn’t have to tell me.
But I equate it this way. Greeny understands the country club thing. He plays tennis, golf. This is the way I equated it to him. I said, “Greeny, imagine if you and I were tennis partners. We were playing doubles tennis and we got to be really good. We did it for 17, 18 years where that’s all we did and we got really good at it. And then, all of a sudden, you, without really saying anything, got another agent and all of a sudden you were on your own. You became a singles player. You wanted to become a singles player, which is your right. But you kind of just did it. So all of a sudden you are going to become a singles player and your partner was like, wait, what the hell just happened?”
That’s my only issue. We were partners for so long. Just sit me down and say, you know what, Mike, I think we’ve taken this as far as we can go, or as far as I want it to go, because I want to go out on my own. I want to be in New York no matter what. I want to host TV alone. That’s what I want to do. I would have had no problem with that. He has every right to do that. Me personally, and maybe it’s from being in team sports all my life and always thinking of team first, that didn’t seem to be the case. That’s the thing that upset me the most.
You will always be linked to Greenberg because of your long tenure with him on Mike and Mike. Do you have a relationship with him today?
Golic: No, not really. And it’s not all on the way it ended. It’s weird, and I try to explain this as best I can. Greeny and I were certainly friends, no doubt about it. I mean, all the years we did the show and all the traveling we did together. But our lives away from ESPN, we were basically an hour and a half apart. When I started the show, I had three kids. He had none. So we already kind of lived in two different worlds, and quite honestly, I think that’s what made the show as successful as it was. I think a lot of others have agreed and said that. We were very different and we were never around each other outside of the show or outside of when we had to travel for the show. We never hung out. It was never a friendship like that.
Obviously I didn’t like the way things went down, and that’s obviously been well documented. So from that point on, outside of the show, it was never, “Hey, let’s hang out.” We never did that anyway, even though we were certainly friends. Then once it ended kind of the way it ended, there was just again from a geographical situation and just a life situation in general, where our kids were, where our family was, there was just no real reason that we’d really kept in touch with each other. We will see each at Super Bowls and will say, “Hi, how are the kids?” But that’s pretty much it.
(Top photo of Golic at the NFL Draft in April: Steve Luciano / AP)
I remember the fall out in real time. Idk if Greeny is actually jewish but that last name is, so anything opportunistic coming from him shouldn't surprise
That said that show sucked dikk for the longest time up until it ended
But all in all, to look that man in his face for a year and know you were blowing the show up while he didn't is super trife
Idk what kind of internal presence ESPN has left but they seem to have tossed all their culture setters out and have devolved into a cable gossip rag. OTL is gone, Sports Reporters gone, does 30 for 30 still exist?
You're watching the slow death of ESPN imo. They're hanging on because live sports is still best viewed on cable, but over the next 10/15 years network infrastructure should be as stable as cable and when/if Amazon or somebody else with a way larger subscriber base than ESPN+ steals NFL/NBA games for Prime that'll be all she wrote.
Eye Cue DA COLI GAWD
<--- Cleveland Browns winning that many, boi!
Nikkas get fired everyday b 
Ehhhh In Greeny's defense, Golic should have saw the writing on the wall and knew something was up when they cancelled the Mike & Mike move to NYC. It had been fairly obvious for years that Greeny had higher aspirations outside of Mike & Mike and wanted to do his own thing.
Golic's biggest mistake was thinking that Greeny had any loyalty to him. Just because you work with someone for years doesn't mean that you two are close.
Mastamimd
Ain't shyt
Yeah I was wondering what happened to Sports Reporters, it was what I grew up watching before the football games. ESPN has devolved into pure vapid fodder, and FSN isn't much better. I thought these trash show ideas would die with the god awful Sports Nation but here we are.
Sports Nation still exists, but it's relegated to ESPN+ with the fine blonde chick they recently brought on. OTL still exists too, but it's relegated to few minute segments during SportsCenter. Sports Reporters has been gone for a long while though.
Mastamimd
Ain't shyt
Ah makes sense.
Nope, no defense for it. It's about respect, which to work with someone over a decade you have to have. Unless you didn't, which makes you even more of a bytch for hiding true feelings for over a decade while you sat beside him.
All that looking for hidden messages shyt or "writing on a wall" ain't shyt to a man in line with his conduct & principles. It should've be nothing for you to sit him down and tell him what you want to do, which is what Golic said is all he had to do.
If you read the article Golic himself said they weren't close away from the show. You keep coming at it as a co-worker, I'm talking strictly from how men should handle business and that's how he sees it as well.
If you're making the decision to step away you already know you're affecting his position as well. Have the ability to look him in his eyes and tell him as much, then shake his hand for all the years you sat next to each other. If he doesn't want to do the last part that's on him, but at least you did your part. You didn't give him the opportunity to do that and hid behind ESPN for 12 months who didn't feel the need to tell him either.
