Mike Francesa puts ‘big mouth’ Mets owner Steve Cohen on blast: ‘Get off your rear end’

The New York Mets may have fired their manager, but Mike Francesa won’t let that excuse owner Steve Cohen from holding himself accountable.

Cohen bought the Mets for $2.4 billion in 2020; he’s spending nearly $400 million on this season’s roster, and he’s on the verge of garnering the label “worst team money can buy.” The 2026 Mets have already hit what has been perceived as “rock bottom” several times this season. But the latest “rock bottom” led to the firing of manager Carlos Mendoza as the team sits a season-worst 13 games under .500. And amid the disastrous season, Cohen is nowhere to be found.

“The idea that you’re not going to have accountability on this franchise is a joke,” Francesa ranted on his podcast Thursday night. “I’m going right past Mendoza, because I don’t care he’s small potatoes. I’m going right past [President David Stearns] because in the grand scheme of things, he’s small potatoes. And [I’m going] right to the owner.”

“The owner going on five-and-a-half years ago with a big wallet and a big mouth and made big promises and now he’s in the witness protection program,” Francesa ranted. “Doesn’t work that way. Get off your rear end and stand up, and face the music. Get into a press conference, make some statements about your team, and answer some questions from the media about where you’re headed.”

Francesa went back to the day Cohen met the media after purchasing the Mets, where he made the grand statement of, “If we don’t win a championship in three to five years, I would consider it a big disappointment…I didn’t buy this team to be mediocre.”

“Right now, mediocre would be such a step up that you can’t even get there,” Francesa said, continuing to use Cohen’s once grand declaration against him.

“Where’s the accountability?” Francesa asked. “The buck doesn’t stop with Mendoza, the buck doesn’t stop with Stearns. It stops with you. You’re the owner. And you talked about that day when you bought the team, ‘I bought it because I know how much people care about the franchise.’ Well, let’s tell the reason why he bought it. He bought it for the same reason why rich billionaires always buy teams.”

Francesa went on to say that buying a professional sports franchise is a great investment because no owner sells the team for less than they paid for it in this era. But Francesa also believes Cohen purchased the team to become a celebrity figure in New York. Nobody cared about Cohen when he was just the boss of a wealth management business. But as owner of the Mets, Cohen and his family now have recognition.

That recognition was fun in 2022 and 2024, when the Mets went to the playoffs. But it might not be as fun now that the Mets are back to being one of the most embarrassing franchises in Major League Baseball.

“Right now, your franchise is a complete and utter disgrace,” Francesa said. “Forget greatness. Forget mediocrity. You aren’t even shooting for that right now. Where’s the plan?”