Throughout his career in sports media, ESPN Radio’s Chris Carlin has done a little bit of everything.
Originally a producer on WFAN’s Mike and the Mad Dog, Carlin since had stops at SNY, Philadelphia’s WIP, returned to WFAN, and then jumped from ESPN New York to ESPN Radio where he hosts the daily midday show alongside Joe Fortenbaugh.
This week, Carlin joined Brandon Contes on The Awful Announcing Podcast to discuss his time at WIP. Specifically, he praised Philadelphia fans for embracing him and giving him a chance despite being a New Yorker.
Contes first asked Carlin if the move to WIP in 2016 was an attempt by Carlin to prove he deserved a show on WFAN, as Mike Francesa had already announced his (first) retirement scheduled for December 2017.
“I didn’t, for a couple of reasons,” Carlin said. “Number one, it was owned by Intercom, CBS Radio, at the time. [WFAN executive] Mark Chernoff was heavily involved in every other market. And Mark said, ‘Listen, if you go to WIP and this works out, I am not bringing you back in a year to take over for Mike.’ And that was fine.”
Ironically, Carlin did wind up filling Francesa’s slot at WFAN alongside Bart Scott and Maggie Gray before Francesa decided to unretire four months later and take his afternoon slot back.
Regardless, Carlin has no regrets about his decision to go to WIP. “It was a good time to try something new somewhere else so it was my idea to pursue it. If I go to WIP for the rest of my career and it’s successful, I would be fine with that. How that all unfolded was kind of bizarre with the New York stuff, but going to WIP was an incredible experience,” he said.
The only reservation Carlin had, he told Contes, was how the Philadelphia fans would respond to him.
“I had the same feeling about Philadelphia that people do from the outside, not really knowing it and spending a year getting to know those fans. Getting to know those people. Getting to understanding what makes them tick. I had never seen anything like it and I still haven’t seen anything like it,” he said. “Every city has their fans who are idiots…
“Those fans were so engaged on those athletes. The most popular guy in town was [Eagles long snapper Jon Dorenbos].
“They gave me a chance and I absolutely am grateful to them for that to this day and still think about Philly. I still live about a half hour from town in the same house that we moved to when I took the job.”
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