Mike Mulligan is no longer with 104.3 The Score in Chicago. On Friday, the station cut the 23-year veteran along with midday host Marshall Harris as The Score undergoes another lineup change. It’s the third change in two years, following Danny Parkins leaving for FOX Sports in 2024 and Dan Bernstein’s departure in 2025. Change is the only constant in radio, and The Score is not immune from it.
However, Friday’s news regarding the departures of Mulligan and Harris struck a different tone.
After more than two decades with the station, Mulligan had been the morning voice since taking over the daypart in 2008. Eighteen years in Chicago morning drive doesn’t happen by accident. It’s a legacy of success, impact and connection that few, if any, in that daypart have matched.
That’s why this felt different.
Change Is Constant
I was there on day one for Mulligan and Brian Hanley in 2008 when the show was elevated to morning drive following the dismissal of the Mike North Morning Show. I was the lone holdover from North’s program because I decided to stay with The Score instead of investigating other opportunities outside the walls. It wasn’t an easy decision at the time for a 27-year-old who had his first child on the way.
Go with whom I know and am familiar with or stay and start over again.
From 2008 until my departure in 2011, I worked every weekday morning alongside Mike Mulligan, Brian Hanley and Executive Producer Dustin Rhodes, helping build the early foundation for what the Mully & Hanley show would become. It became one of the more successful sports radio programs in the market’s history. It was built on journalism, access and information, with a legacy formed through its impact on the audience.
Yes, the program experienced change throughout the years after I departed. Several people rotated in and out of my former position. Brian Hanley was let go after his contract wasn’t renewed. David Haugh, who worked alongside Mulligan covering the Chicago Bears, entered the show and became a natural extension of its branding.
Change is the only constant in radio. Even with a couple of years left on his contract, Mulligan still departed.
Following the news, my phone exploded. Social media went crazy. Impressions, shares and comments appeared across every social platform. This wasn’t just a random cut. This was an impactful one. Radio is dead, huh?
The Rebound
The challenge now is how The Score rebounds. Over the last 21 years, Mitch Rosen has overseen all this change. He’s been doubted before. But every time, the station rebounded and elevated its game into a new evolution. That’s not a former employee kissing ass to his former boss. That’s just facts.
I see no reason why The Score won’t rebound from these departures because of the leadership surrounding it and more than three decades of equity supporting the brand. But Mulligan can rebound from this, too, because it’s only in his nature.
Mulligan joked with me via text following his departure that he first plans to attempt to erase the sleep deficit that has accumulated over the years in morning drive. After that accomplishment, there are options, and plenty of them, with the audience currency Mulligan owns.
I’ve watched that evolution firsthand.
The same person who shared with me stories of going from covering the public league to Michael Jordan then transitioned from basketball to becoming one of the market’s top insiders covering the Chicago Bears. He evolved from scribe to radio and television, with each step bigger than the one before it.
I expect no different from Mulligan with his next leap if he so chooses to take it.
We’ve seen it already with many top names in the top markets. Sports radio has handed some of its biggest stars to the digital content frontier, only to play catch-up to their reach and impact once they establish and plant their flag.
Could Mulligan begin a Substack and return to his first love of writing? Might Mulligan be an attractive target for digital platforms like 312 Sports, Barstool Sports or CHGO?
Whatever comes next, one thing is certain: Friday’s news was not the end of the story for either Mike Mulligan or 104.3 The Score.
Credibility Is Currency
For Mulligan, 23 years of building credibility, trust and an audience doesn’t disappear because of a business decision. His next opportunity will come with something every media company wants and few can manufacture: a loyal audience that already knows his voice, trusts his work and will follow him wherever he goes next.
The same is true for The Score.
The departure of a morning voice who spent 18 years defining the station’s sound is significant. It should be. But The Score’s identity wasn’t built by one person, one show or one era. It was built over decades by many people who understood Chicago sports, understood the audience and understood how to evolve when the industry demanded it.
That’s why this moment can be both an ending and a beginning.
Mulligan leaves with a legacy that gives him options. The Score moves forward with equity and institutional knowledge that gives it options. Both have been through change before. Both have reinvented themselves before. And both have something that cannot be taken away by a Friday afternoon phone call: relevance.
The reaction to Mulligan’s departure proved that.
Radio may be changing. Audiences may be consuming content differently. The platforms may look completely different five years from now. But when a broadcaster can create the kind of reaction that Mulligan’s departure generated, and when a brand can withstand decades of change and still command that kind of attention, there is still plenty of life left in both.
Mulligan will find his next chapter. The Score will find its next evolution. If history is any indication, neither will be defined by what happened on Friday.
They’ll be defined by what they do next.
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Mully and Hanley podcast?
I’d listen to that.
Would be awesome!
Wouldn’t put it out of the question. A reunion episode or series would be must listen
If they bring on Ruthie Pulinski they will lose so many listeners. She’s great in what she does but my self and other die hard listeners do not like her on the radio. She’s my guess since she was the most consistent fill in the last few years. I won’t listen if that’s the case. Now, if they somehow managed to convince Carmen Vitali. Id still tune in.
Jarrett Payton was the selection. Solid add with tons of name value in the market
Now the only thing left for me on the Score is Cubs baseball. Can’t wait to see where Mully goes but Jarrett Payton will not draw me back to The Score. Thanks for your insights but I’m done with 630/104.3 once Cubs season ends. Keep us posted on Mully’s next move because thousands will likely follow him.
I agree
it’s 670, not 630. so you’re apparently not a listener anyway
Well written. Agree totally. Hope Mully finds his next passion. I will miss him, he and Haugh seemed to have a good rapport. Haugh helped him fill in some words when Mully had trouble finding them, and I respected Haugh for that. I like Haugh as well…we will see how the chemistry grows between he and Jarrett. It will take a while. Good luck, Mully!
should have fired haugh too. That morning show has been unlistenable for decades. Good riddance.
Decades? How would you know if you don’t listen?
100% correct. They were so vanilla and boring, I just stopped listening. Same with the midday show. They had to bring Grote on full time just to try and save it. Hopefully Leila is gone when her contract is up.
As someone over 70 the morning show was the only thing I wanted to get up for, Mully was the connection to all great things past which mean a lot to older listeners. Being a sox fan, no reason to listen now, just more vanilla.
I’d like to hear a Mully and Hawk podcast!
Mully is great and Payton is a bore. There will be a lot more Kap and J. Hood in the morning now.
Terrestrial radio is over Hugh is an ass hat !
Well said, Rock! Yep, I am-was a listener. 🙂
One thing that the Score will miss, something that you allude to, is the loss of institutional knowledge. Mully was that reporter who began working the phones for Chicago prep sports scores, on the ground covering Tommy More (IYKYK), the Bulls run, Bears, and others. That connection is critical, IMHO, for those on the air covering local sports.
More importantly, Mullys personality and storytelling is the best. No doubt he will land on his feet, if he wants to get back into the grind.
I like Mully a lot, but he’s lately been confusing teams, names, and forgetting where he is in sentences. but I’ll miss him a lot!
Mully deserved better. Worst case move Mully to mid days, that show needs lots of work. JP in the mornings is solid, yet not at the expense of Mully.
Mike was loyal, knowledgeable and a true journalist, not just some schmuck behind a microphone.
Mully knows the comeback is always better than the set back!
They cut loose the wrong guy. He was only one I would listen too. It amazes me that haugh the carpetbagger is still around.
Mike Mulligan set the standard for Sports Radio not just in Chicago, but nationwide. Name one show that was more informed, on the pulse and consistently on point about what is going on with Chicago teams. This change smacks of a budget move and while Payton is certainly a talent, in no way will this change in the morning show make it better. Every day, the Mully-Haugh program was extremely well produced and offered intelligent but passionate discussion of the teams we love. This is a very sad moment for spirts radio in Chicago.
They fired the wrong guy. Should have dumped the egotistical Haugh, who likes to hear himself talk.
That was a rug pull if I ever seen one.
First of all, great article. As disappointing as the news of Mully’s departure was, I suspect what you said is true. Both Mully and the Score will continue to draw attention. I will say, that as a listener. it’s the personalities that draw my attention, and not just the format. I will be keeping my ears open to hear where Mully lands, and will likely follow him. Much like with Dan’s departure, I enjoyed the content enough that I followed him to 312 Sports. Will look to do the same with Mully. Formats may change, but trusted, entertaining, knowledgeable broadcasters are valued for their consistency. Looking forward to hearing from Mully again soon.
Well written article. Mitch did Mully dirty. Looking forward to Mullys comeback and the demise of Bitch Rosen
thanks for good information
Very bad move by the Score. Mully was the brighter and more appealing morning personality, Not Haugh, who I think has been becoming more of a resolute critic, kind of , “I’m right and that’s the final word.” He was a better sports writer before his radio career.
I listened to the show for years because of Mully. I hope ESPN can bring him on in some capacity. But judging by the evolution of these sports talk shows with their personalities and their takes on the corporate nature of pro sports in America, I don’t think his kind of reporting is the path for the future.
Has anyone caught the endless list of loud mouths and critics occupying the sports air waves over the weekends? The crudeness and obnoxious commentary is off putting.
Just bad news.
Good luck, Mully. You will be missed.
I am a longtime listener to the Score but after moving out of the area, I have relied on online options such as CHGO. I have listened to clips of the Score on YouTube and was shocked to listen. to Mully. He often seemed confused, mixing things up, and sounded like he would slur some words. Getting older stinks and wish Mully the best but it was a tough listen, to be honest.