While seeking a replacement for Chris Russo, Mike Francesa talked with the one person who might even be a Madder Dog.
In the aftermath of the 2008 split that ended the iconic “Mike and the Mad Dog” WFAN pairing, Francesa and longtime program director Mark Chernoff met with several potential replacements — including Stephen A. Smith.
“He wanted to replace you,” Francesa told Chris Russo on Thursday at a reunion at Barrett Sports Media Summit. “I had lunch with him.”
According to Francesa, who later clarified that he “never seriously considered a partner when Dog left,” his first meet-up was with Smith, then an ESPN voice without the platform he has now.
In 2008, Smith lost his radio show and wound up at Fox Sports Radio a year later. In an alternate universe, he might have been screaming at Francesa for the next decade.
“You should’ve hired him, what the hell!” Russo shouted upon hearing the revelation.
Instead, Francesa stayed solo for the rest of his career, retiring for (maybe) a final time in 2020. Smith landed back at ESPN and has arisen as a superstar sports shouter on “First Take,” where he recently has had battles with Russo, one of the original sports shouters.
Smith “would have been a very wise choice,” Francesa wrote on Twitter.