dan le batard-stugotz-john fox

When ESPN’s hire of former NFL coach John Fox was reported Tuesday, more than a few people wondered how a scratchy-voiced man of few (notable) words who often clashed with the media who covered him would fit on a television studio show.

Among those taken aback by the prospect of Fox on television were Dan Le Batard and Stugotz, who spent a segment of their ESPN Radio show Wednesday mocking Fox for his dry press conferences and joking about their own network’s tendency to hire coaches with less-than-sterling track records.

The roast began with Le Batard presenting an idea for a new ESPN promo, “where it’s big and loud and echoing, and it’s ‘Bad. Coaches. Work. Here.'”

“We’ve been making fun of John Fox for three years straight,” Le Batard announced, “and we can’t stop making fun of him now.”

That intro was followed by a series of clips from Fox’s press conferences that ranged from comically mundane to borderline nonsensical. Here is but one chunk of the lengthy montage:

When the audio stopped, Le Batard welcomed Fox to ESPN, declaring that, “We’ve been laughing at your red face and that voice for, I don’t know, four straight seasons.”

Stugotz then requested that Fox walk around screaming at people leading up to his television debut because, “We need that voice to be that voice on ESPN.”

Though Fox took the brunt of the abuse from Le Batard and Stugotz, the hosts made sure to save some mockery for former ESPN analyst (now Arizona State football coach) Herm Edwards.

Very, very few ESPN personalities could get away with going on national radio and aggressively making fun of their own network’s newest big-name hire. Of course, Dan Le Batard and Stugotz are not like most other ESPN personalities, which is exactly what makes segments like this one so compelling.

About Alex Putterman

Alex is a writer and editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. He has written for The Atlantic, VICE Sports, MLB.com, SI.com and more. He is a proud alum of Northwestern University and The Daily Northwestern. You can find him on Twitter @AlexPutterman.