Emmanuel Acho saw Skip Bayless in his prime as a debate show host at Fox Sports, and he saw his eventual downfall after failing to adapt to the times.
Acho recently joined the Awful Announcing Podcast for a wide-ranging conversation about Speakeasy, FS1, The Facility, Joy Taylor, Shannon Sharpe, Skip Bayless, and more. And during the interview, Acho revealed he was interested in replacing Sharpe as Bayless’s partner on Undisputed back in 2023. Acho even offered to work the morning show with Bayless and continue working with Joy Taylor on their own show at the time, Speak.
Ultimately, FS1 and Bayless opted to replace Sharpe with a committee of analysts, much like Stephen A. Smith did after booting Max Kellerman from First Take several years earlier.
“That was the first error by Fox, losing Shannon and not having an instant replacement,” Acho said. “The second error is you come with this hodgepodge roundtable, and you make Skip, who’s just a spot-up shooter, you make him have to be a point guard. Skip ain’t a host…everybody can’t host.”
While Acho told Fox he was interested in replacing Sharpe, he never mentioned it to Bayless. Once Acho realized Bayless wanted to mirror what Smith had at First Take, he knew the revamped version of Undisputed wouldn’t be a fit.
“I think he’s aging out if we’re being honest,” Acho continued of Bayless. “Because here’s the thing about Skip… He’s never pivoted. All he has is a fastball. He ain’t got a changeup, he ain’t got a curve, he ain’t got a slider. That’s why he’s still burning Dallas Cowboys jerseys after a game because that’s his schtick.
“Stephen A. has pivoted. Stephen A’s got a curve. Stephen A’s got a changeup, Stephen A’s got some pitches. All Skip has is a fastball and he’s lost speed on the fastball. Still has enough speed to generate traction. But like, come on, Skip. Change it up, bro.”
Since parting with FS1, Bayless has embarked on several digital ventures, the latest being a relaunched version of Gridiron with Aqib Talib. Bayless is also set to slightly work his way back to ESPN by making recurrent appearances with Smith on First Take later this month. But even if Bayless can still dial it up to generate attention occasionally, there’s no question the intrigue around him has faded since he broke up with Sharpe on Undisputed.
About Brandon Contes
Brandon Contes is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He previously helped carve the sports vertical for Mediaite and spent more than three years with Barrett Sports Media. Send tips/comments/complaints to bcontes@thecomeback.com