After 737 episodes, Ahmed Fareed is stepping away from Chris Simms Unbuttoned, but don’t expect any tearful goodbyes.
The longtime NBC Sports personality announced his departure from the podcast, which has been one of the few constants in his sports media career, citing the mounting responsibilities that come with his expanded role at the network. Fareed has been tapped for additional NBA and college football hosting duties, leaving him stretched too thin to maintain his twice-weekly NFL deep dives with Simms.
“It’s going to be awesome no matter what happens,” Fareed said during what felt like a remarkably composed farewell. “This has been super cool and like I said, if I wasn’t still working with you… I’d be pretty busted up right now, but I will miss doing this show with you and talking NFL a couple of days a week.”
The lack of waterworks makes sense when you consider this isn’t really goodbye. Fareed and Simms will continue working together as part of NBC’s Big Ten college football coverage. In fact, according to Simms, they’ll be seeing each other a lot more.
“We’re not ending our working relationship by any stretch of the imagination,” Simms reassured listeners. “If sh*t doesn’t go right here, we might have to rearrange the salary cap and get your ass back in here. We’ll have to offer you that Jared Goff money and get you in here.”
But Simms might not have to look far for a replacement.
Jon “Stugotz” Weiner has been recently guest-hosting episodes of Chris Simms Unbuttoned. And it gives Stugotz, who recently stepped back from his role at Meadowlark Media, a place to talk football. That’s become increasingly rare for Stugotz these days, as his relationship with his longtime co-host, Dan Le Batard, continues to seemingly deteriorate.
During one recent appearance with Simms, he openly mocked his irregular schedule on The Dan Le Batard Show, telling his potential future co-host, “I have arrived at a place in my career after 20 years with Le Batard, where I’ll show up to that show whenever the f*ck I feel like showing up to that show.”
Stugotz hasn’t regularly appeared on The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz since July 17, despite promises he’d maintain a regular schedule. Meanwhile, Simms needs a new co-host. The math isn’t complicated.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.