Clinton Yates had an impossible task: replacing a legend. That’s been the challenge ESPN Radio has faced for more than a decade. Colin Cowherd leaves for FOX Sports Radio, and Dan Le Batard steps in. Le Batard leaves ESPN, and Mike Greenberg’s Greeny takes over. Greenberg steps away from ESPN Radio, and Clinton Yates steps into the role.
Now, just a year later, ESPN Radio is about to fill the midday time slot for the fifth time in a little over a decade. That doesn’t even account for the rotation of cast members in morning drive since Mike & Mike split.
Syndicated sports radio continues finds itself at a crossroads. Veteran, legacy talent is aging out, retiring, or pursuing other avenues in sports. Dan Patrick is expected to retire within two years. Doug Gottlieb chased his passion for college basketball. Colin Cowherd continues building his podcast empire at age 62. Mike Greenberg says he expects to return to radio one day, but when? And how? More importantly, why?
Clinton Yates’ departure leaves opportunity—an opportunity for ESPN Radio to rethink how it evolves within the sports radio industry.
When Mike Greenberg decided to step away after five years hosting middays solo, plenty of questions followed. First and foremost: how would Clinton & Friends appeal to an audience accustomed to a Hall of Fame-caliber host like Greenberg? Those shoes aren’t easy to fill, and they wouldn’t be for anyone.
When ESPN Radio announced Clinton & Friends, the network also shifted Q Myers to co-host with Joe Fortenbaugh from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m., as Chris Carlin moved to ESPN New York. That created five hours of brand-new national programming for listeners.
Just 13 months later, all five hours are gone from the weekday lineup. Joe & Q was replaced by The Rich Eisen Show. Now, we wait to see what replaces Clinton & Friends.
ESPN Radio likely has plenty of options. Would the company consider leaning on its Good Karma Brands partners and elevate Jorge Sedano and Scott Kaplan from ESPN LA to the national stage from 10 a.m. to noon ET? Their show moved to morning drive in September and features voices familiar to a national ESPN Radio audience.
Could ESPN pursue another licensing agreement similar to the one with Rich Eisen? Might the company expand its partnership with Omaha Productions and tap into a roster of signature podcasts featuring ESPN’s top personalities?
The options may be plentiful—but will any of them break through in an evolving sports radio industry?
ESPN Radio has recognition. It carries the sound of a national brand. Its visuals are already top-tier and likely to improve. The reach and branding are there.
Now, it’s about the future—the next generation and a new way to connect with the audience.
When Westwood One Sports launched its new lineup this past December, I credited the effort and especially the approach. The lineup wasn’t built around former athletes or recycled ESPN talent. It was young, social, and energetic. It featured talent grinding through multiple jobs while experimenting across digital platforms.
While many sports radio brands across the country stopped trying new approaches and allowed opportunities to pass, Westwood One took a different path. It was a step toward competing in a lane the industry had yet to fully explore—content-first, but not radio-only.
Now, ESPN Radio has that same opportunity. The goal should be to connect with audiences on multiple levels, across every viable platform, and establish itself as a destination for programming that resonates widely. The infrastructure and assets are in place. The question is whether the company will use them.
Or will ESPN Radio stick to its traditional formula?
Too often, sports radio brands and stations fall back on what once worked. They return to the same playbook, hoping history repeats itself.
That trend extends beyond local sports radio.
This isn’t a criticism of the executives making these decisions—it’s an observation about perception. Too often, the message suggests that protecting the present matters more than building for the future. Meanwhile, the younger audiences the industry claims to covet continue to shift to new platforms, while the core audience sports radio was built on steadily ages out.
Credit to Clinton Yates, who spent a decade at ESPN filling every role asked of him. His contributions won’t—and shouldn’t—fade quietly. Anyone placed in that chair, in that time slot, understood the uphill climb ahead.
Now, it’s on ESPN Radio to decide. Filling the time slot doesn’t require replicating the past, but it does require building for the future. That demands bold decisions and leaders willing to try something different.
Because this isn’t just about replacing a host—it’s about redefining what ESPN Radio wants to be.
The next voice in that chair won’t simply follow Colin Cowherd, Dan Le Batard, or Mike Greenberg. They’ll step into an ecosystem that no longer plays by the same rules those names once dominated. The audience has changed. The platforms have changed. The expectations have changed.
So this decision can’t be about comfort. It can’t be about familiarity. And it definitely can’t be about recreating something that no longer exists.
It has to be about vision.
If ESPN Radio leans into what’s next—not what’s been—this vacancy becomes less of a problem and more of a turning point. A chance to build something that doesn’t just survive in today’s audio landscape, but competes in it.
And if they don’t?
Then this won’t be the last time we’re having this exact same conversation a year from now.
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.
