Entercom’s WWL announced yesterday that former New Orleans Saints offensive lineman Zach Strief will be the team’s new radio play-by-play man. In an extraordinary move, Strief is going straight from the playing field to a play-by-play role after retiring in March.
Strief was a seventh round pick out of Northwestern in 2006. He started more than 100 games in his 12 year NFL career. While he has virtually no broadcasting experience, he does have a degree in broadcasting and has spent some time as a fill-in host on WWL-AM.
NOLA.com detailed the preparation Zach Strief put in and the lengths he went to to pursue this opportunity.
Strief said he had called possibly 100 practice games, as well as sought feedback by sending his recordings to several radio professionals. As part of his job audition with WWL-AM and Entercom Communications, he called some practice games with McAllister.
“Obviously it’s a difficult job,” Strief said. “I have a ton of respect for people that do it. You very quickly become enamored with a few guys that you listen to and you say, ‘Oh, man, they are so good.’ It’s something that I would certainly have to grow into. It’s also a job that I think is very special and that would be very exciting to do that kind of work.”
Strief replaces Jim Henderson, who recently retired after 32 years in the booth. He will work with analyst and former teammate Deuce McAllister and sideline reporter Kristian Garic.
