ESPN’s future is starting to look familiar

This originally appeared in Tuesday morning’s edition of The A Block, Awful Announcing’s daily newsletter with the latest sports media news, commentary, and analysis. Sign up here and be the first to know everything going on in the sports media world.

In the early 2000s, Rich Eisen was one of the premier faces of SportsCenter, then-still ESPN’s flagship program. Skip Bayless was laying the bricks of what would become the Embrace Debate era, which would come to define the network for the decade ahead. Mike Golic was partnering with Mike Greenberg during the heyday of ESPN Radio.

In 2003, Eisen left to become the face of NFL Network. Bayless remained a mainstay through 2016 until he jumped ship to Fox Sports. Golic and ESPN parted ways in 2020, and he started a daily show with his son, Mike Golic Jr.

As each of them left, ESPN evolved. Eisen’s departure was a canary in the coal mine for SportsCenter’s golden era. Bayless’s departure meant Stephen A. Smith was free to become the face of the network. By the time Golic was gone, ESPN Radio was a shell of its former self, having given way to YouTube, podcasts, and Pat McAfee.

ESPN moved forward.

But a funny thing has been happening in recent months.

First, Eisen returned, bringing The Rich Eisen Show to ESPN Radio, and making nostalgic appearances on the Worldwide Leader by hosting SportsCenter and reminiscing about the good old days with his former co-hosts. He’s also been positioned as an emergency failsafe in case McAfee ever decides to take his ball and go home.

Then, Skip Bayless returned to First Take in a much-hyped reunion with Smith. Initially billed as a one-time only, it soon became apparent that it was destined to be the first of many appearances across the desk.

Now, just six years after it seemed as though there wasn’t a place for him anymore, Golic is back. He and his son are bringing their show, now called The Golics, to ESPN Radio on weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET starting in August.

All of a sudden, here in 2026, SportsCenter is back in the conversation, Skip Bayless has people talking about his ESPN hot takes, and ESPN Radio is making its case for relevancy once more.

That isn’t to say ESPN is suddenly trying to say 2003 programming is where it’s at. If anything, it’s a reminder that what goes around comes around, especially in media. You’ll never meet a trend that doesn’t reappear years later. Anyone who ever tries to tell you the modern state of things is here to stay is either a liar or a fool. Change is inevitable, and nostalgia is a hell of a drug.

If nothing else, it’s a reminder that there’s nothing like name recognition. Building new stars is an essential part of the media company’s process, but it’s hard work and often a matter of dumb luck. And for every new media star that is born, there’s a graveyard full of careers that never took off. So when someone reaches the level of Eisen, Bayless, or Golic, it’s much easier to fill a void with that trusted brand than it is to roll the dice on something unproven.

It’s not likely that ESPN is about to start shuffling back every big name from the 1990s and early 200s it can find. But the Worldwide Leader has picked its spots with blasts from the past and, so far, they’ve paid off, at least in the short term. Overexposure awaits to doom us all, but for now, these familiar faces (and voices) are striking the right balance.