Dan Patrick on Tuesday responded to Colin Cowherd accusing him of not having a strong enough work ethic.
Cowherd was on one of his usual rants Monday, this time to defend co-worker Skip Bayless. Bayless took a lot of heat for calling Johnny Manziel an alcoholic, but Bayless’ information looked to be pretty accurate when Manziel checked into rehab. In light of that, Cowherd defended Bayless’ work ethic. He cited Jim Rome’s work ethic and then said Patrick does not work as hard as those guys and “needs 35 producers” to fill a segment.
You can see that clip below, with the Patrick remarks coming towards the end:
Cowherd calling out Patrick’s work ethic is the latest in barbs exchanged between the two hosts over the years. Patrick formerly worked for ESPN before venturing out on his own and starting what ultimately became a highly successful radio and TV show. Cowherd came to ESPN as a national radio voice, then also co-hosted “SportsNation” on TV. He has become a major personality for the network over the past several years.
The last time they really got into it was in 2012 when Patrick was upset with Cowherd for failing to credit him on air. That could be why Cowherd has some beef with Patrick.
The whole thing is really silly if you think about it. Both Patrick and Cowherd are hard workers and excellent at what they do. The same goes for Rome and Bayless, too. You don’t get to that level AND STAY THERE without being immensely talented and hard-working.
All of those guys work very hard. I’ve worked on Jim Rome’s show in the past. The guy gets into the office at 6:00 a.m. and was the most well-prepared radio host I’d ever worked with. Rome also chooses to make his crew a big part of his show, but it’s funny that Cowherd only called out Patrick for that. Seems a little inconsistent, doesn’t it? Maybe Cowherd just does not like Patrick and that’s why he took the jab. And Patrick brings up a good point — he cites his producers on air because he wants to credit the people who work for him. When I hosted shows, I always did the same. You want to know why? Because it sucked to work behind the scenes and make the host look smart while getting zero recognition or credit. But Cowherd doesn’t mind being the star while the people who work for him get little love.
Getting into little beefs like this is actually good for both hosts; Cowherd loves getting his name in headlines by trolling (and he’s very good at it). Meanwhile, Patrick likes getting the headlines too especially when he can come out looking like the victim of an unwarranted attack who is taking the high ground with a well though-out and powerful defense. It’s a win-win situation for both.
But back to Cowherd’s point about work ethics, all of those guys work hard; the difference is whose style you prefer. And I’ll tell you this much: I never choose to watch/listen to Bayless or Cowherd, but I enjoy what Rome and Patrick do.
