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Francesa Opens Up About New Role With WFAN

“According to Francesa, his daily WFAN gig from 6 – 6:30pm will be fast paced and unlike his previous shows, probably won’t take a lot of calls.”

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No official announcements have been made by WFAN as to how they’re replacing Mike Francesa in afternoon drive, but the radio icon himself has been open about his new role, which will include a 30-minute weekday show. 

As WFAN looks to retool their lineup for the second time in two years, Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts are expected to take over the 2 – 6pm timeslot with Maggie Gray and Marc Malusis likely headed to the midday. But as Francesa recently stepped down from his afternoon post, he has continued to make it clear that he’s not leaving the station completely. 

On Tuesday, Francesa appeared as a guest with Julie Stewart-Binks on her fubo Sports Network show, Call It a Night to promote the upcoming film he has a small role in Uncut Gems. During the appearance, Francesa removed himself as a potential candidate to be the next head coach of the Giants, but did discuss his future with WFAN and their parent company Entercom. 

According to Francesa, his daily WFAN gig from 6 – 6:30pm will be fast paced and unlike his previous shows, probably won’t take a lot of calls. 

“My show always moved very quickly anyway,” Francesa told host Julie Stewart-Binks. “That’s how I did things. I disposed of callers very quickly. I moved everything along very quickly. That’s just my way. I went through a very high volume of stuff. I think the show has to move. I hate when it drags.”

Keeping with the plan of moving quickly, the half hour show will only have five-minutes of commercials, but Francesa said he’s still working on the format. 

“I’m gonna change up how I do it, there’s not going to be a lot of calls. There will be some, but very few. Maybe even only one a day. I thought about maybe that. I’m still formulating the half-hour. I’m going to make it something we haven’t done before.”

In addition to maintaining a daily presence on WFAN, Francesa will also have an expanded role with RADIO.COM, which he previously stated will include content on both sports and politics. 

Francesa told Stewart-Binks that he has a fascination with finance and politics. While he’s satisfied with show options in the finance space, Francesa believes there’s room for improvement with available political content. 

The radio host has never shied away from stating his support for President Trump, but when it comes to the political content he wants to create, Francesa says he’ll play it right down the middle. While most political shows and networks are heavily in favor of the left or right, Francesa hopes to be an unbiased voice.

Stewart-Binks asked Francesa about the often spewed ‘stick to sports’ mandate. “Tell ‘em to shut up, I don’t care what they think,” Francesa answered.

Francesa’s RADIO.COM hour is expected to air weekdays at 5pm ET, preceding his six o’clock show on the FAN and totaling 90 minutes of airtime a day for the longtime sports radio host.

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Doug Gottlieb: There’s a “Less Than Remote Chance” On Getting Oklahoma State Job

“I was offered a job to be an assistant coach at Oklahoma State last offseason. Initially, the plan was to be able to do radio and be an assistant.”

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Doug Gottlieb

For the first time in seven years, Oklahoma State is looking for a new head men’s basketball coach. The school fired Mike Boynton late last week after posting a 119-109 record. Fox Sports Radio’s Doug Gottlieb, a former Oklahoma State point guard, has openly and publicly campaigned for the position in the past. It was brought up again recently on The Doug Gottlieb Show.

“If you go back seven years ago, when I had just started at Fox Sports Radio, that’s when Mike [Boynton] was hired,” Gottlieb said, “and I was, I think, a finalist…What you should know since then is, yeah, I’ve tinkered around with college coaching. I’ve always tried to protect still doing the radio show. One, because I love this, and two because I’m treated really, really well. And three, I was never in a position I thought, financially, to just walk away from stuff and start all over.”

“…I have been a consultant this year for the program, spent a lot of time there,” Gottlieb continued. “Last year at this time I was actually a finalist for a job at Wisconsin-Green Bay.”

Later, Gottlied got right to the heart of the matter, saying, “I think there’s a less than remote chance that I would get that job, and I know that because I have a good relationship with the Athletic Director Chad Weiberg…He called me, honestly, right after the news broke and in the very nicest way possible said, ‘Look man, I just had a coach for seven years who had not been a head coach before. I can’t hire another coach who has not even been a college assistant before.’

Gottlieb makes a case for himself stating he thinks he would be welcome in gyms and homes where he would need to be in order to recruit. He also says he has many connections between his own coaching in AAU basketball as well as his family’s history and connections in the area. “I think I fit how college basketball is now more so than previously,” he said.

Gottlieb told his audience, “I was offered a job to be an assistant coach at Oklahoma State last offseason. Initially, the plan was to be able to do radio and be an assistant. Then that plan kind of changed, they were like, ‘Hey, you gotta make a decision. Do you want to do the radio show and all of the other stuff you do, or be an assistant coach?’ I wasn’t ready…my girls are seniors in high school, it felt like a sacrifice, frankly, not worth making.”

In the end, Gottlieb made it clear he knows he may never be the head coach at his alma mater and part of that is because of how much he enjoys what he is currently doing. “I am not chasing anything,” he said. “… It’s an itch that I don’t know if it will ever be scratched. I love what I do and the people I get to meet along the way. But, if the right thing presents itself and it feels right, well yeah. But, I don’t think I need to pack anytime soon to be the head coach at Oklahoma State. Even if I do believe that I’m the right guy there, I truly believe that.”

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Adam Crowley: Joe Lunardi “Should Be Ashamed of Himself”

“That is such a low-class, low-rent, jerkwad move that I’m never sticking up for the guy again.”

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Phot of Adam Crowley and Joe Lunardi
Credit: Audacy, FanBuzz.com

Adam Crowley, co-host of The Fan Morning Show on 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh, did not take kindly to a social post from ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi. Prior to the start of ‘Selection Sunday,’ the X account for the University of Pittsburgh men’s basketball team posted a graphic with some information about their resume to make the NCAA Tournament. Lunardi quoted their post and said, “The line with the 343 [Non-Conference Strength-of-Schedule] must have gotten cut off on my screen.”

In a bit titled, ‘Social Media’s Biggest Loser,’ Crowley chose Lunardi as his pick and said, “I’ve been defending Joe Lunardi for weeks, as the ‘messenger who was being shot.’ Joe is just predicting what the committee, in a flawed system, was going to do. That’s all he was doing. But, this was too far for me.”

In explaining to his audience the social exchange, Crowley said, “Pitt basketball tweeted out a worthy resume and posted a really nice graphic…It had all of the reasons why they should’ve been included in the dance.”

After reading the response from Lunardi, Crowley exclaimed, “Look, that’s why they got left out. Joe, you don’t gotta be dunkin’, man. That is such a low-class, low-rent, jerkwad move that I’m never sticking up for the guy again.

“And I get that he probably got worn down by Pitt fans…you gotta have thicker skin, Joe, and you don’t gotta be dunking on a fan base an hour before they find out that they’re not making the NCAA Tournament. That to me was such a low-class, jabroni move by him. It’s not a professional thing, its just a bad move on his part and I think he should be ashamed of himself.”

As he wrapped up the segment, Cowley added, “What do you hope to gain from that?… A big ‘L’ for Joe Lunardi there.”

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Report: Mike Missanelli Could Be Headed Back to 97.5 The Fanatic

“Mike’s name has come up. He’s a great talent, and we’ll just have to wait and see what happens. A lot of people are interested in the radio station right now. So I’ll leave it at that.”

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Photo of Mike Missanelli

As 97.5 The Fanatic in Philadelphia announced changes to its lineup last week, The Philadelphia Inquirer has reported there may be another change ahead. The newspaper reported former host Mike Missanelli could be headed back to the station and has had conversation with station management.

Program Director, Scott Masteller, who took over those duties in January of 2024, told the Inquirer. “Mike’s name has come up. He’s a great talent, and we’ll just have to wait and see what happens. A lot of people are interested in the radio station right now. So I’ll leave it at that.”

Missanelli had been with the station for 15 years before his surprise exit on the final day of May in 2022. At the time, Missanelli said on the air, “The station and I are talking about me remaining with the company in some kind of a role, but who knows. What I can tell you is they already have a replacement show under contract and I’m sure you’ll be hearing about that in the next few days.”

Andrew Salciunas has been moved from middays to mornings to work with John Kincade and Former Philadelphia Daily News writer Bob Cooney has been shifted to the midday slot. Speculation in the market has been Missanelli could jump in with Cooney should he return.

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