I once had a very wise co-worker tell me to live life, and see life, in the “gray”. That many people would find everything black and white, and if you could see the gray, you had a leg up on others. I’m not certain there’s a more black-and-white human being — and radio host — than Dan Dakich.
Dakich departed The Fan in Indianapolis late last week. If you believe the reporting of The Indianapolis Star’s Gregg Doyel, it was a long time coming. The sports columnist revealed earlier this summer that it was a forgone conclusion Dakich would be fired by new station owner Radio One for telling “tasteless” jokes in the presence of his station’s new leadership group at a golf outing that left them “mortified”.
What you see with Dan Dakich is what you get: He is brash, opinionated, and unconcerned with your opinion of him.
If you were to draw a line from Bowling Green, Ohio — where Dakich worked as a head coach for a decade at Bowling Green State University — and Indianapolis, I live not far from the midway point of that “as-the-crow-flies” line.
I have never met Dakich, but know those who have worked with him — both as a coach and a radio host — and a small smattering of his former players. Opinions of Dakich are as black-and-white as his personality. One former player believes Dakich’s leadership, stewardship, and investment in his life is the sole reason he has been somewhat successful in his professional career. I know another that — if Dakich were on fire — wouldn’t pee on him to put the fire out.
Dan Dakich is everything I should dislike in a sports radio host. Obnoxious, boisterous, unrelenting, close-minded, needlessly controversial, and often believing he’s the smartest man in the room.
And yet, I can’t help but find myself drawn to him, as so many of his loyal listeners are. There’s a somewhat admirable quality — in a day-and-age of ever-changing principles — for his steadfast and firm stance in what he believes. There’s simply is no ambiguity on what he believes. Wait around long enough, and he’ll let his feelings known.
For each person celebrating his radio demise, there was an equal and opposite reaction of Indianapolis-area listeners lamenting the fact that the market’s strongest, most opinionated voice would no loner be heard every afternoon.
When the news came down Thursday afternoon that Dakich would depart the station, I can’t say I was surprised. Flatly, Doyel reported Dakich would be fired, eventually, in a July column detailing his falling out with the former college basketball coach. And I can’t imagine his radio bosses were thrilled that it’s marquee host had also begun a digital show — Don’t @ Me with OutKick — that mixed his outspoken sports opinions with his outspoken conservative political beliefs. It was, frankly, a relationship destined for a breakup from the beginning.
Doyel made compelling — and frankly fair — points about Dakich’s shift from opinionated radio host to self-absorbed media darling. And yet, I couldn’t help but feel as if he was one of the best sports radio hosts in America. I remember being asked by a representative from a national sports radio network who they should consider hiring from an open mid-day slot. Without hesitation, I responded “Dan Dakich”.
Even after all of his controversies, of which there have been many, I remained a Dakich fan, working on separating the art from the artist. Dakich has undeniably stepped in it a time or two, but has also done numerous works of charity throughout the Indianapolis-area. The same can be said for his time in Bowling Green. There are several off-the-record stories of families in the city finding unexpected money or gifts at Christmas time that wouldn’t have had it otherwise, with the message of “everyone deserves to have a great Christmas” and a wink and a nod with an index finger over a closed mouth.
And yet, he has completely lied about some situations or things he has said on the air, and treated those in the Indianapolis media completely unfairly. His running one-sided feud with ESPN.com reporter Stephen Holder — who claims he’s never even met Dakich let alone spoken to him — is puzzling. His ongoing feud with writers from The Star have featured moments so unpleasant that they’d make Ted Cruz’s appearance on The View look like a church service.
So…who is Dan Dakich? Is he the obnoxious loud-mouth on the radio or is he the community-minded, people person who enjoys helping those around him succeed? How should I feel about him? Should I be able to separate the person from the acts?
Honestly, I don’t know, but — like most every other topic — the truth is probably somewhere in the gray.
Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing daily news stories, features, and opinion columns. He joined Barrett Media in 2022 after a decade leading several radio brands in several formats, as well as a 5-year stint working in local television. In addition to his work with Barrett Media, he is a radio and TV play-by-play broadcaster. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
