Passing the Mike
WFAN exploring options in finding Francesa successor
The biggest question in New York sports media has to be answered in the next year: Who will replace Mike Francesa?
“Mike is certainly an icon and, you can’t replace someone at that level,” said WFAN’s vice president of sports programming Mark Chernoff, the man responsible for the decision.
“Yes, I have to replace him, obviously, but it doesn’t mean I am going to find the same thing.”
Francesa is now 363 days from his final show at WFAN. Love him, hate him or mock him, the 62-yearold has become the face of sports radio in New York and beyond.
He did not do it alone, of course. The first 18 years of his rise, until 2008, came with Chris “Mad Dog” Russo right next to him.
“I’m assuming they are going to put two people in there,” said Russo, who removed himself from consideration as a potential candidate when he re-signed with SiriusXM for three years in September.
“It’s a big responsibility to put one guy in there for five hours. They would never move Boomer [Esiason] and [Craig] Carton, there’s no need to do that, they need the morning show, as well.
“I would think they would get two people in there and try to create some buzz. I don’t think they are going to move Evan [Roberts] and Joe [Benigno, the midday duo] in there, either. I think they are going to try and get two fresh voices. That’s what I would do, and Chernoff is a smart guy. He put together Boomer and Carton after [Don] Imus left, so I think he’ll do a good job of figuring this out.”
Yes, Chernoff has been here before.
He and Francesa had to decide how to handle Russo’s departure to SiriusXM, trying out several different partners. Francesa revealed he asked former ESPN columnist Bill Simmons to pair with him, and sources told The Post that CBS and YES Network playby-play man Ian Eagle was the other person Francesa wanted beside him. The timing was not right for either, and Francesa decided to proceed as a solo act.
Now, one or both afternoon seats are set to be open again.
There has been buzz around New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, whose term ends in January, going straight from politics to sports. He has filled in for Esiason in the morning as a co-host with Carton.
Tiki Barber and Rick DiPietro are two former New York athletes who are now in the radio industry, and have worked well alongside Brandon Tierney and Alan Hahn, respectively. Those options could work if Chernoff decides to go a similar route as he did in 2007 when CBS Radio fired Imus, who occupied the crucial morning slot at WFAN, after he called the Rutgers women’s basketball team “nappy-headed hos.”
“I thought the morning show would be the most important decision that I had,” Chernoff said. “But now this is obviously huge. We have a lot of people that I am sure will offer help at looking at a lot of talented people out there.”
WFAN toyed with moving Mike and the Mad Dog to the mornings, but scrapped that idea. They knew they wanted Esiason involved and the feeling was mu- tual. They went through several different pairings — Cris Collinsworth, Monica Crowley — before Carton emerged on their radar as his contract ended at a New Jersey station.
“After just listening to them for a couple of minutes, I thought those were the two guys,” Chernoff said.
And he has been right. Esiason and Carton have been a success in the mornings for nine years and running. They’ve built a loyal audience with their brand of sports-meets-entertainment and are syndicated on CBS Sports Network, all while mocking Francesa every chance they get.
Even as “Boomer and Carton” push the traditional boundaries of sports talk, do not expect Francesa’s replacement to break through it.
“My one thought, and it still holds to today, is that whatever you do it should still come from the world of sports,” Chernoff said. “You can be entertaining and move onto other topics, but you start out with sports as the focus.”
Chernoff was sparing on the specifics of the search thus far — “We are always out there looking,” he said. The one mistake Chernoff insists he will not make is trying to find “the next Mike Francesa.” (Does such a man even exist? Perhaps hiding inside his cult “Mongo Nation” following?)
The decision is made more difficult by the changing landscape of the business. Between podcasts, satellite radio and a multitude of media options, it’s a far different word than the one Francesa and Russo took over in 1989.
“There won’t be anyone that has had the same impact that he’s had,” Eagle said. “We are in a different world now where there’s so many options for fans, and when Mike came onto the scene, it was WFAN in New York and that was the only choice. His fingerprints were all over every big sports story in New York over the last 25 years.”
There is another option, too. Some time in the next year, Francesa pulls an about-face and opts to stay with WFAN, where he is currently making around $5 million per year. He has insisted on multiple occasions this won’t happen and he is already pursuing other options, but not everyone is convinced.
“I don’t think it’s within Mike to just walk away anonymously,” said a source close to Francesa. “Would it surprise anyone if he just walked into WFAN on a random Tuesday and said, ‘I am staying?’
“That could be the reason why WFAN is playing this slowly, not announcing a grand plan. They still might not be convinced he’s leaving.”