Mike Detellier Credit: WWLTV
By Sean Keeley on

Less AI and more AA in your search results.

Add Awful Announcing as a preferred source on Google

Mike Detillier, who spent decades talking college football and the NFL on WWL Radio and became one of the region’s most beloved voices to discuss the LSU Tigers and the New Orleans Saints, has died at age 65.

The news was announced by WWL, which said that Detillier had just recently learned he had terminal cancer and planned to share the news with his audience on Tuesday, his 66th birthday.

“Last week, I was rushed to the hospital for stomach pain. After several CAT scans and tests, doctors broke the unbelievable news: I have metastatic pancreatic cancer. Stage 4. Incurable,” Detillier had revealed to WWL, per Audacy’s Nathan Rizzuti. “While it’s an incredibly emotional time, I want to thank everyone – the listeners, the whole team at WWL radio and Audacy, New Orleans, and all those who put up with me over the years – from the bottom of my heart for the opportunity to let me live my passion: The game of football. Hosting SportsTalk with Bobby J, Deuce, Hoss, Steve, and the whole crew – working for WWL has been the honor of a lifetime.”

Detillier spent over four decades at WWL, making his name with his NFL Draft coverage and frequently appearing on WWL’s Fourth Down on Four and other sports programs.

Tributes poured in from colleagues and New Orleans sports luminaries, who remember him for his kindness and deep knowledge.

“You had to pack a lunch if you were going to start talking football with Mike. The man did his homework,” said Bobby Hebert. “But that’s how Mike earned the respect of players, coaches, and analysts around the country – not just here in New Orleans. It was everywhere. Mike comes prepared, and that’s the name of the game right there. It’s heartbreaking, and hard to stomach, and almost impossible to imagine the thought of analyzing Saints and LSU without him. I don’t know how I’ll get through the next Second Guess Show without Mike. We’ve been doing that show together for over two decades. Since before Katrina, he was like a brother. This hurts. It really hurts.”

“There’s no replacing him,” said Deuce McAllister. “You won’t find a sharper football mind out there. I played 9 seasons as a pro, but when Mike spoke, I learned. He saw things in a way that most people couldn’t. He had an engineer’s mind – an absurd ability, really, when you stop to think about it – not only to take all the angles of a game in at once and process that information, but to bring in all the information of players dating back to their early days, before college even. You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who can bring that level of insight and personality to the table like Mike D.”

“He was an engineer by trade,” Voice of the Saints Mike Hoss said. “But his passion was football. You could see it. It was about relationships, coaches, scouts, people he knew. He loved to tell stories. He would peel back the curtain… I thought about the intellectual talent that he had in his head. Forget the stuff that he wrote down. The stuff that was in his head. We would do draft day, and I don’t think I could have made up a name, and he would have had some stat on him. He was just that knowledgeable.”

The New Orleans Saints released a statement on Monday, saying they were deeply saddened by his passing.

Saints coach Kellen Moore also opened his Monday press conference with a statement about Detillier, sharing that he was “such a nice and kind person.”

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.

View all posts by Sean Keeley