On April 26, 2017, the entire sports media world was rocked by news of about 100 layoffs at ESPN, many of them impacting big-name reporters, columnists, anchors, hosts and analysts.
A year later, those former ESPNers have landed in all sorts of interesting roles, from Food Network to the University of Pennsylvania to, of course, The Athletic. Here are updates on every known victim of ESPN’s April 2017 purge, broken into a few categories.
Joined The Athletic
ESPN’s layoffs turned out to be a great opportunity for The Athletic, which has grown from several cities to several dozen markets in the past year, while launching verticals on college basketball and college football made up largely of ESPN castoffs.
Dana O’Neil
Then: ESPN.com college basketball reporter
Now: College basketball reporter for The Athletic
What a difference a year makes. When the bottom dropped out a year ago today, friends told me it would work out. They were right and Im better for the experience. Grateful to family, friends, even coaches who encouraged me. @ChuckCulpepper1, @YahooForde and Alfonso especially
— Dana O'Neil (@DanaONeilWriter) April 26, 2018
Eamonn Brennan
Then: ESPN.com college basketball reporter
Now: College basketball reporter for The Athletic
Chantel Jennings
Then: ESPN.com college sports writer
Now: College football reporter for The Athletic
David Lombardi
Then: ESPN Pac-12 reporter
Now: 49ers beat writer for The Athletic
Jayson Stark
Then: ESPN.com MLB reporter, columnist
Now: MLB columnist for The Athletic; interview-show host for Stadium; MLB Network contributor
Johnette Howard
Then: ESPN.com columnist
Now: Columnist for The Athletic
Brian Bennett
Then: ESPN.com Big Ten reporter
Now: Freelance college basketball contributor for The Athletic
Max Olson
Then: ESPN.com Big 12 reporter
Now: College football reporter for The Athletic
C.L. Brown
Then: ESPN.com college basketball reporter
Now: College basketball reporter for The Athletic
Andrew Brandt
Then: ESPN business analyst
Now: Columnist for The Athletic, The MMQB
Ethan Strauss
Then: ESPN.com Golden State Warriors reporter
Now: Incoming Golden State Warriors reporter for The Athletic
Thrilled to announce that I'll be joining The Athletic on May 15th. Here's our special sign up link, stay tuned for more, and happy NBA playoffs to all! https://t.co/uSKOeeFi69 https://t.co/Pg4ByMeF4z
— Ethan Strauss (@SherwoodStrauss) April 13, 2018
Jim Bowden
Then: ESPN.com MLB columnist
Now: MLB columnist for The Athletic, analyst for CBS Sports HQ; radio host on SiriusXM
Mark Saxon
Then: ESPN St. Louis Cardinals beat reporter
Now: St. Louis Cardinals beat reporter for The Athletic
Scott Burnside
Then: ESPN.com NHL reporter, columnist
Now: NHL reporter for The Athletic
Pierre LeBrun
Then: ESPN.com NHL reporter, columnist
Now: NHL columnist for The Athletic; TSN contributor
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Joe McDonald
Then: ESPN.com NHL reporter
Now: NHL reporter for The Athletic
Elsewhere in sports media
Robin Lundberg
Then: ESPN Radio host
Now: Host of Sports Illustrated’s SI Now Live and on CBS Sports Radio
Chris Hassel
Then: Anchor on SportsCenter, other shows
Now: CBS Sports HQ host; Stadium play-by-play announcer
Greg Ostendorf
Then: ESPN.com SEC reporter
Now: Writer for Auburn athletic-department website
Marysol Castro
Then: Host of Premier Boxing Champions
Now: Host and creator of SOMOS web show
Darren M. Haynes
Then: SportsCenter anchor
Now: WUSA9 sports director and reporter
Show #1 in our “NEW STUDIO” is in the books!!!!
973,382,825,282 more to go 🤪 @wusa9 @WUSA9sports pic.twitter.com/FnVnBYC0ub
— Darren M. Haynes (@DarrenMHaynes) April 27, 2018
Jeff Biggs
Then: ESPN LA radio host
Now: NBC Sports Radio host
Allen Bestwick
Then: ESPN motorsports commentator
Now: Back on ESPN for 2018 IndyCar season
Dave O’Brien
Then: Play-by-play commentator on various ESPN events, including MLB coverage
Now: Red Sox play-by-play voice on NESN (where he has worked since 2016)
Ed Werder
Then: ESPN NFL reporter
Now: Host of The Doomsday Podcast; Westwood One sideline reporter; restricted free agent
Jarrett Bell
Then: ESPN.com NFL contributor
Now: NFL columnist for USA Today (where he has been since before ESPN layoffs)
Paul Kuharsky
Then: ESPN.com Titans beat reporter
Now: Founder, writer, editor of PaulKuharsky.com; Radio host on 104.5 The Zone in Nashville
Brendan Fitzgerald
Then: ESPNU studio host
Now: UFC commentator for FS1
Austin Ward
Then: ESPN.com Big Ten reporter
Now: Ohio State beat reporter for Land of 10
Jesse Temple
Then: ESPN.com Big Ten reporter
Now: University of Wisconsin beat writer for Land of 10
Mark May
Then: ESPN college football analyst
Now: Contributor on 103.7 The Buzz in Central Arkansas
Re-Signed with @1037TheBuzz ESPN Radio. They get it & R the best. Looking forward to CFB season MAKING STATEMENTS THAT OTHERS WON'T. Tune In
— Mark May (@mark_may) August 30, 2017
Len Elmore
Then: ESPN college basketball analyst
Now: College basketball analyst for FS1, CBS; on faculty at Columbia University, teaching sports management seminar (all of which he has done since before ESPN layoffs)
Brett McMurphy
Then: ESPN college football reporter
Now: Will reportedly join Stadium as a college-football reporter.
MEDIA NEWS: Hearing @Brett_McMurphy will be joining @WatchStadium as a college football insider sometime in the next couple of months. McMurphy did excellent breaking news work for ESPN before he was laid off. Good to see him landing somewhere again.
— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) April 30, 2018
Andy Katz
Then: ESPN college basketball reporter, host, anchor
Now: NCAA.com college basketball reporter
Calvin Watkins
Then: ESPN.com Houston Rockets beat writer
Now: New York Jets beat writer for Newsday
Justin Verrier
Then: ESPN.com New Orleans Pelicans beat writer
Now: Senior editor at The Ringer
Marc Stein
Then: ESPN NBA reporter, columnist
Now: NBA reporter for New York Times
John Clayton
Then: ESPN NFL reporter
Now: Seattle Seahawks sideline reporter on 710 ESPN Seattle and KIRO Radio 97.3; radio host on 710 ESPN Seattle
Jean Jacques-Taylor
Then: ESPN.com columnist
Now: Radio host on 103.3 ESPN Dallas; reporter for NBCDFW.com; adjunct lecturer at Southern Methodist University
Mark Dominik
Then: ESPN NFL analyst
Now: Radio host on SiriusXM
Doug Glanville
Then: ESPN MLB analyst, ESPN.com columnist
Now: NBC Sports Chicago contributor; Lecturer at University of Pennsylvania
https://twitter.com/NBCSChicago/status/989979615560192001
Dallas Braden
Then: Monday Night Baseball analyst
Now: Analyst for NBC Sports California; podcast host for Barstool Sports
Jay Crawford
Then: SportsCenter anchor
Now: Play-by-play announcer for Cleveland Browns preseason schedule; executive in residence at Bowling Green State University
Jerry Punch
Then: ESPN college football and motorsports reporter and analyst
Now: Will work Indianapolis 500 for ESPN/ABC
Dave Tuley
Then: ESPN.com betting analyst
Now: Betting analyst for VSiN
Erik McKinney
Then: ESPN.com college football recruiting reporter
Now: Writer for WeAreSC.com
Dottie Pepper
Then: ESPN golf analyst, reporter
Now: Golf analyst for CBS (where she has been since before ESPN layoffs)
Adam Caplan
Then: ESPN NFL reporter
Now: Radio host on SiriusXM; play-by-play for Philadelphia Soul
David Thorpe
Then: ESPN.com NBA analyst
Now: Analyst and editor for FloHoops.com; executive director of Pro Training Center
Mike L. Goodman
Then: ESPN soccer reporter
Now: Host of Double Pivot Podcast (since before ESPN layoffs); freelance writer
Jim Caple
Then: ESPN.com columnist
Now: Freelance sports writer
Danny Kanell
Then: ESPN Radio host
Now: College football commentator for FS1; host on SiriusXM; CBS Sports digital contributor; host of Off the Bench with Kanell and Bell podcast
Pumped up for some big things ahead…get ready on Monday. #backtothegrind
— Danny Kanell (@dannykanell) August 25, 2017
Elsewhere in media
The members of this group continue to work in media but have left sports behind, at least for now.
Jaymee Sire
Then: SportsCenter anchor
Now: Floor reporter on Food Network’s Iron Chef, food blogger
Reese Waters
Then: SportsCenter correspondent
Now: Host of Get Up DC! on WUSA9
Britt McHenry
Then: Correspondent on SportsCenter, other ESPN shows
Now: Host and reporter at The Federalist; host of Like it or Not on Fox 5 in Washington D.C.
LIKE IT OR NOT: @BrittMcHenry, @GuyLambertNews and @LokayFOX5 discuss if they like the Browns taking Baker Mayfield with the 1st pick & if they are fans of the Redskins' first round pick. Watch the special NFL Draft edition of #LikeItOrNot here: https://t.co/n2yJHDJ7XS #fox5dc
— FOX 5 DC (@fox5dc) April 28, 2018
Jeremy Crabtree
Then: ESPN.com college football writer
Now: Digital media manager for KMBC in Kansas City
Other job in sports
These former ESPN contributors have left media, but hung around in sports one way or another.
Tom Farrey
Then: Investigative reporter, Outside the Lines contributor
Now: Executive director of sports and social program at Aspen Institute
Trent Dilfer
Then: ESPN NFL analyst
Now: Elite 11 head coach, host of Soul and Science on NFL Network
Merril Hoge
Then: ESPN NFL analyst
Now: Head coach, Your Call Football
Hear from winning coach, @merrilhoge and @JenHale504 after the final Your Call Football preseason scrimmage.https://t.co/ixoeIKXnJq
— Your Call, Inc. (@Your_Call_Inc) April 28, 2018
Charles Arbuckle
Then: ESPNU college football analyst
Now: Executive director of the Carolinas Senior Football Showcase
Raul Ibanez
Then: Wednesday Night Baseball analyst
Now: Special adviser to Dodgers president Andrew Friedman (a role he has had since 2016)
Rufus Peabody
Then: ESPN.com predictive analytics expert
Now: Professional sports bettor, host of Bet the Process podcast
Josh Parcell
Then: ESPNU associate producer
Now: Program director at Accelerate Basketball
Dan Sharfin
Then: ESPN voice over artist
Now: Freelance voice over artist
Prim Siripipat
Then: ESPN anchor; ESPN Radio host
Now: Professional tennis player
Ron Jaworski
Then: ESPN NFL analyst
Now: CEO of Ron Jaworksi Golf; part-owner of Philadelphia Soul; chairman of Arena Football League executive committee (since before ESPN layoffs)
Job outside sports and media
This group has decided to go an entirely different direction, post-ESPN.
Derek Tyson
Then: ESPN SEC recruiting analyst
Now: Regional director of Trupanion pet health insurance
Chad Ford
Then: ESPN NBA Draft reporter
Now: Associate professor at BYU-Hawaii (where he has been since 2005)
Doug Padilla
Then: ESPN Dodgers beat reporter
Now: Director of media for Hangar 24 Craft Brewing
Jane McManus
Then: ESPN.com reporter, columnist; ESPN Radio host
Now: Columbia University adjunct professor (where she has been since before ESPN layoffs); appeared on House Hunters International and will apparently move to England
What the hell have I been doing since ESPN? Find out Tuesday night at 10 p.m. ET when our @HouseHuntersUSA episode debuts! Bonus footage: Will our marriage survive? Will our teen daughters acknowledge us publicly? Find out! pic.twitter.com/zFBnHNWkfV
— Jane McManus (@janesports) March 26, 2018
Steve Delsohn
Then: ESPN investigative reporter
Now: President of Delsohn Strategies communications and PR agency
Joe Banner
Then: ESPN NFL analyst
Now: City Year trustee
David Ching
Then: ESPN.com SEC reporter
Now: Writer and editor for Purdue’s College of Liberal Arts; Forbes contributing writer
Melissa Isaacson
Then: ESPN.com columnist
Now: Lecturer at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism
Free agents
As best we can tell, these former ESPNers do not currently have work. Some might still be under contract at ESPN, while others have likely chosen not to work for one reason or other. A handful have not given any public indication of what they’re up to at the moment.
Ashley Fox
Then: ESPN.com NFL columnist
Now: “Writer. Speaker. Entrepreneur. Athlete. Mom,” per her Twitter bio
Jade McCarthy
Then: SportsCenter, NFL Live anchor
Now: Weighing next move
Henry Abbott
Then: TrueHoop founder, writer, editor
Now: “Dad, husband, reader, writer, worker,” per his LinkedIn
Roger Cossack
Then: ESPN legal analyst
Now: Unclear
Jerome Bettis
Then: Analyst on NFL Live, other shows
Now: Unclear
Ted Miller
Then: ESPN.com Pac-12 reporter
Now: Unclear