Greg Cote was among the 30 employees laid off by the Miami Herald in the latest round of cuts by McClatchy Media that have affected newsrooms across the country.
Cote, who spent 54 years at the Herald covering sports and became a national media figure thanks to both his reporting and his contributions to The Dan Le Batard Show, announced the news on social media.
A bit of news to share. I must make official that, after 54 years at the @MiamiHerald, I am among the 30 employees laid off in the latest cost-slash by McClatchy. I’ll speak of this for the first time Monday at 7 a.m. on @TheGregCoteShow podcast & our YouTube channel. pic.twitter.com/4hcHHyuOAB
— gregcote (@gregcote) September 13, 2026
Technically, the news of Cote’s layoff was first broken by Le Batard’s wife, Valerie Scheide, in a video posted to the show’s social channels.
“I’ve never seen Dan this angry,” she begins, as Le Batard can be heard screaming and cursing in the background of the video. “I’m sorry to do this, but I have been waiting about eight years to get my revenge on Greg Cote for breaking our wedding news. I’m heartbroken honestly to deliver this news. … But the legend Greg Cote has been let go from the Miami Herald after 50 years, on his birthday. It happened actually on his birthday. So, sorry to deliver it. It had to be me though, because revenge.”
Ever a professional broadcaster, Scheide closed with a plug for Cote’s show, where he will be discussing the news on Monday.
Valerie has breaking Greg Cote news: pic.twitter.com/3W6Hj2upwP
— The Dan Le Batard Show (@LeBatardShow) September 13, 2026
The video was a reference to Cote having first broken the news of Le Batard and Scheide’s engagement before Le Batard himself announced the news all the way back in 2018, which was a tough break for Le Batard but resulted in some absolutely terrific radio.
While the news of Cote being let go is a somber reminder of just how bad, deep, and unfair current layoffs in the media industry are, at least the Le Batard crew found a more lighthearted way to make Cote smile.
In late July, Cote reacted to ESPN’s controversial wave of layoffs, which feels eerie in hindsight, while making one of his regular The Dan Le Batard Show appearances.
“Anytime a big corporation needs to have cutbacks, I think they owe it to the long-serving employees to at least offer them a buyout, at least offer them a chance to go out on their terms,” Cote said. “What they shouldn’t do is just abruptly fire somebody without, in the background, saying, ‘Look, retire on your own terms. Take a healthy buyout, and go out the way you want to go out.'”
Le Batard then hypothetically asked what a corporation would owe Cote, to which Cote said, “I don’t think I’m owed the next year. I don’t think I’m another year in that company. What I do think I’m owed is the respect for me to fashion an exit on my terms, whether they’re ‘allowing’ me to retire or they’re offering me a buyout I can’t refuse.”
Cote will get into the nitty-gritty of what actually happened with the Herald on Monday, but it does not seem as though the Herald afforded Cote any of that.
About Tyler Lauletta
Tyler is a editorial contributor at Awful Announcing, with previous stops at Sports Illustrated and Business Insider during his career covering sports in digital media. He is, begrudgingly, a Truster of the Process and general Philly sports sicko.