It did not take WFAN long to find the man to replace Craig Carton as Evan Roberts’ partner on the station’s afternoon drive time show.
Only hours after Carton announced that he was leaving the show and WFAN, Gary Meyers reported that former New York Giants running back Tiki Barber will co-host the show with Roberts.
Barber is currently the host of the station’s midday show, along with Brandon Tierney.
Breaking news: @TikiBarber will be replacing @craigcartonlive on afternoon drive time on @WFAN660, teaming with @EvanRobertsWFAN. Sources say announcement is planned for Monday. Congrats to Giants all-time leading rusher who’s been co-hosting WFAN’s midday show.
— Gary Myers (@GaryMyersNY) June 16, 2023
Andrew Marchand reported earlier on Thursday that Jerry Ferrara, best known for his portrayal as Salvatore “Turtle” Assante on Entourage from 2004-2011 was a candidate to replace Carton. But that report also identified Barber as “the leading candidate,” so Meyers’ report is far from surprising.
For years, WFAN’s afternoon show included Mike Francesa. From 1989-2008, Francesa and Chris “Mad Dog” Russo hosted Mike and the Mad Dog. After Russo’s departure, Francesa hosted the show on his own through 2017. Francesa retired but only briefly, returning in 2018. In early-2020, Francesa retired again and the drive time spot was taken by Joe and Evan, hosted by Roberts and his then-partner, Joe Benigno.
In late-2020, Benigno retired and Carton, who had previously hosted WFAN’s morning show with Boomer Esiason before going to prison, returned to the network and became Roberts’ co-host.