Several big names have are leaving ESPN this year, and Colin Cowherd is reportedly the latest.
As The Big Lead first reported, Cowherd has agreed to part ways with the World Wide Leader. He is said to be leaning toward taking a job with FOX Sports.
“We’ve enjoyed a mutually beneficial run with Colin for over a decade,” ESPN president John Skipper said in a statement to TBL. “He came to national prominence on ESPN with his unique perspective on sports and society. Endings also bring new beginnings, for ESPN and Colin, and we thank him and wish him the best.”
Cowherd began working at ESPN in 2003, when he replaced Tony Kornheiser for the late-morning time slot on ESPN Radio. Jamie Horowitz, the new president of FOX Sports, was the producer for SportsNation when Cowherd cohosted with Michelle Beadle. Cowherd could reportedly move to FOX Sports 1 and be given a more primetime spot similar to the ones that are occupied by SportsCenter and First Take on ESPN and ESPN2, respectively.
In the past several months, ESPN has parted ways with Bill Simmons, Keith Olbermann and now Cowherd. Unlike the Simmons and Olbermann divorces, there is no indication that there were censorship issues with Cowherd. And no, it has nothing to do with horrifically bad interview Cowherd recently had with Jim Harbaugh.
There has been a lot of speculation that ESPN is looking to cut costs because of so-called “cord-cutters,” or people who are getting rid of their cable subscriptions and instead using a la carte services like iTunes, Amazon Prime, Netflix and others.
Photo via Colin Cowherd/Twitter
