WFAN to announce Mike Francesa replacement this week, sources say
Mike Francesa during a 'Mike and the Mad Dog' SiriusXM Town Hall at SiriusXM Studios on July 6, 2017. Credit: Getty Images for SiriusXM / Cindy Ord
WFAN plans to announce on Wednesday morning its new afternoon show to replace Mike Francesa, starring Chris Carlin, Bart Scott and Maggie Gray, three people familiar with the selection process said.
At the same time, the station will announce that Gregg Giannotti is to replace Craig Carton alongside Boomer Esiason in the morning.
Both new shows are to premiere on Jan. 2.
The longtime midday team of Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts will remain in that time slot with their show expanded by an hour, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Carlin, a former producer for the “Mike and the Mad Dog” show at WFAN and a news anchor at SNY, currently co-hosts an afternoon show at WFAN’s sister station in Philadelphia, WIP.
Carlin announced Tuesday afternoon on his show in Philadelphia that he would be leaving for New York, without specifically saying the call letters of WFAN.
"I am taking an opportunity up in New York City," he said, speaking to co-host Ike Reese. "It was never the plan, certainly. The plan was to be here with you for a long time . . . But things changed. It came together quickly and ultimately it wasn't the plan, but it was something that I grew up there and I couldn't really turn it down."
Carlin added of his year in Philadelphia, "I had a complete blast . . . I'm going to miss the whole thing."
Scott, a former Jet, is an analyst at ESPN New York radio. Gray appears on CBS Sports Radio nationally and works at SI.com.
Scott will be the first African-American host in the station’s daytime lineup since Dave Sims in 1993. Gray will be the first female host in daytime since Suzyn Waldman in 2001.
Kimberly Jones and Chris Simms both turned down the job in recent weeks, according to sources.
Jones, a frequent fill-in at WFAN, is a reporter at the NFL Network and Simms has assumed an increasingly visible role at NBC Sports in addition to his job as an analyst at Bleacher Report.
Asked by a Twitter follower why she passed on the job, Jones wrote, "As I've said repeatedly, I love NFL Network. Love it. (Am already looking forward to the Scouting Combine!) And I really enjoy filling in on WFAN, which I will continue to do."
Francesa’s final show at WFAN is scheduled for Dec. 15.
Giannotti, an alumnus of Bellport High School, will give the morning show an South Shore of Suffolk county feel. Esiason is from East Islip. Carton was arrested on federal charges of wire fraud and securities fraud Sept. 6 and resigned a week later.
Mark Chernoff, WFAN’s vice president of programming, declined to comment, as did Mark Lepselter, the agent for both Giannotti and Scott, other than to say, “I can’t comment until the network makes any official announcements. I am hopeful both guys get a shot here.”
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
