When Robert Smith announced his retirement at the end of the 2000 season after leading the NFC in rushing, it caught everyone off guard. He was in the prime of his career and an important part of the Minnesota Vikings offense, but he sought to pursue a career in medicine and avoid sustaining any additional serious football related injuries.
Although Robert hasn’t become a world famous doctor, he created a strong second career for himself as a football analyst. For the past eleven years he’s contributed to a myriad of football programs on ESPN including most recently College Football Live.
However, all good things must come to an end. Earlier today Robert revealed on Twitter that he would not be contributing to the network’s programming in 2016.
Where Smith goes next is unclear but an eleven year run with the worldwide leader in sports is a great run, and one that lasted even longer than his NFL career. We wish him all the best as he pursues his next opportunity.
Jason Barrett is the President and Founder of Barrett Media since the company was created in September 2015. Prior to its arrival, JB served as a sports radio programmer, launching brands such as 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He also spent time programming SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY. Jason also worked on-air and behind the scenes in local radio at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years on the national stage, producing radio shows for ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT. Among them included the Dan Patrick Show, and GameNight.
You can find JB on Twitter @SportsRadioPD. He’s also reachable by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
