The lengthy search for Mike Francesa’s replacement is almost over. According to the New York Daily News, former New York sports radio host and current WIP afternoon personality Chris Carlin, former NFL Linebacker and CBS analyst Bart Scott, and Maggie Gray of Sports Illustrated and the CBS Sports Radio Network are expected to be named the new afternoon show on WFAN in New York.
Francesa is scheduled to host his final show on The Fan on December 15th.
Carlin, is the most experienced of the trio in sports radio circles. He recently hosted afternoons on WIP in Philadelphia and spent over a decade at WFAN working on-air and off-air, including producing Mike and the Mad Dog, delivering updates during Imus in the Morning, and hosting the overnight show. He posted a message on social media Tuesday night thanking Philadelphia sports radio listeners.
In pursuing this new direction, WFAN adds a female and African American perspective to their weekday programming schedule. That’s a modified position from how the station has been structured in past years.
One surprise in this process was learning how many high profile personalities passed on the job. Reports say that Chris Simms, Kim Jones, Adam Schein and Max Kellerman were all offered the job and declined. Sid Rosenberg was also given consideration but due to his contractual situation with WABC the station had to move in a different direction.
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.
