Is Colin Cowherd about to leave ESPN?

Just a couple of days ago, the superconnected Jim Miller tweeted some interesting inside information on ESPN:

Time to rename Bristol "Crazy Town." Latest @espn salary demands from talent (north of $7M) absurd. Skipper won't tolerate such nonsense.

— james andrew miller (@JimMiller) June 25, 2015

Seven million dollars? Wow. That’s amazing. Miller wouldn’t identify the person who made that demand, but made it clear who it wasn’t:

By the way, NOT@ESPN_Colin

— james andrew miller (@JimMiller) June 25, 2015

What came next from Miller was even more interesting:

Believe it will be tough for @espn to keep @ESPN_Colin but if they give others crazy #'s it will put his deal out of reach for sure.

— james andrew miller (@JimMiller) June 25, 2015

Now with Bill Simmons just about out of the door, one would think that the Worldwide Leader might just open the coffers for Cowherd’s whose contract is expiring at the end of this year. However, as ESPN decided to end its relationship with Simmons and chose not to relocate the Mike & Mike radio show to New York after making an announcement earlier this year, it seems that the network is going fiscal conservative.

Deadspin said back in May that Cowherd is itching to get out of ESPN to start a career in political commentary. Call it a reverse Keith Olbermann if you will.

But what do you call the recent move by ESPN to hire Comcast SportsNet Chicago’s Jen Lada to join Cowherd’s radio show as a contributor and someone to spice up the program? Is it a way to placate him and give him someone to spar with? Or is ESPN Radio preparing to find a new personality who could possibly replace him when he leaves?

And while Cowherd explores his options, is a move back to the West Coast in the cards? As Cowherd was doing a show in Portland, OR before moving east for ESPN, there are rumblings that he might want to move his show to Los Angeles.

But is that demand part of some posturing and is Cowherd preparing to exit the company? It would make for the second high-profile departure from ESPN this year.

And while “As Bill Simmons Turns” continues to be one of the hotly followed sports media stories of the year, “Where in the World Will Colin Cowherd Land” might be a close second. As usual, we’ll monitor the story through its conclusion.