Less than two years into his FS1 show with Jason Whitlock, Colin Cowherd is reportedly planning to jump ship.
Per Michael McCarthy of Sporting News, Cowherd has told Fox executives and colleagues that he will leave Speak for Yourself by the end of the year, as the network plans to expand the show from one hour (5-6 p.m. ET) to two hours (3-5 p.m. ET)
According to one source quoted in McCarthy’s story, “The worst kept secret at FS1 is they’re going to expand [SFY], Whitlock’s still on it and Colin’s coming off.”
McCarthy reports that if Cowherd leaves Speak for Yourself, he will focus more fully on his daily radio show, as well as his role on Fox NFL Kickoff.
Cowherd’s departure from Speak for Yourself, which has run since June 2016, would leave Fox Sports executives with several major decisions. Do they let Whitlock host the show solo, with help from the usual rotating cast of guests, or do they appoint a co-host to replace Cowherd? And if they choose the latter option, who might that co-host be?
McCarthy suggests that Doug Gottlieb and Ray Lewis could find themselves in the running, but Gottlieb already hosts an afternoon radio show and Lewis has his detractors, to say the least.
Per McCarthy, Fox also plans to reorient Speak for Yourself a bit, away from debate and toward… interviews that might provoke debate.
Look for Whitlock to try to do more news-making interviews with celebrity guests on SFY too, said sources. SFY has gotten more media attention for its interviews than its debates. Michael Vick sparked a media firestorm when he told Whitlock that Colin Kaepernick should get a “haircut” if he wants to return to the NFL. Terry Bradshaw made headlines by saying Mike Tomlin of the Steelers is not a great coach — “at all.”
Between the potential changes in length and format of Speak for Yourself, Cowherd’s possible departure and Kristine Leahy’s forthcoming talk show, Fox’s weekday-afternoon lineup could be in line for a major shakeup. We’ll keep an eye on how things there play out.
