Dan Patrick finishes his eighteen year career at ESPN today. The former SportsCenter anchor and host of The Dan Patrick Show on ESPN Radio is moving on to a syndicated radio gig with The Content Factory, beginning next month. Patrick will not be off of the radio for long; next Thursday and Friday, he will fill in on WEEI Radio in Boston, according to Susan Bickelhaupt of the Boston Globe.
Patrick has talked to NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol about a potential role with NBC Sports, specifically for the Olympics. However, his ESPN contract prevents him from taking any television job for the near future, meaning he will be unable to join NBC for the upcoming NFL season and may not be able to participate in the network’s coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Patrick’s final day on ESPN Radio is the culmination of over a month of speculation surrounding his career. It began in late June, with rumors that he may take over the vacant hosting job on The Price Is Right. Patrick dismissed those rumors, and that job has been taken by comedian Drew Carey. Soon after, he announced on his show that he was to make a “big announcement” about his career. That set off days of rampant speculation, which only heated up after he missed nearly a full week of shows.
On July 9, Patrick announced that he was leaving ESPN, despite efforts by executives at the network to convince him to stay. On July 12, it was announced that Patrick was to join The Content Factory, and on July 18, a preliminary date for the premiere of his new show was given (September 9). In late July, Patrick discussed a potential role with NBC Sports, and later elaborated on that discussion an interview with Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated. During all of this, Patrick was absent from ESPN Radio for nearly a full month, not returning to the air until August 15.
The past three days have served as a “farewell for now tour” for Patrick, who becomes the most prominent member of the ESPN/ABC family to leave since Al Michaels went to NBC nearly two years ago. There is no word on whom ESPN will replace Patrick with, though the last several weeks in which Patrick has been off the air have served as an opportunity for the network to audition possible replacements.
Link to Boston Globe article courtesy Fang’s Bites.
