Adrian Wojnarowski has left behind some massive shoes to fill at ESPN. Could Brian Windhorst be in line to try them on?
During a relatively quiet NBA offseason, Wojnarowski dropped the final “Woj bomb” of his reporting career. On Wednesday, the 55-year-old broke the news that he was stepping away from ESPN to take on a much less stressful role at his alma mater.
With the king of NBA scoops officially stepping down, several candidates are reportedly being considered for the vacant throne at ESPN.
A report from Front Office Sports’ Michael McCarthy identified Windhorst as a strong contender to “ascend” to Woj’s place. The report also stated that some believe Windhorst was being “held back by Woj’s outsized presence” and that Windhorst has become “criminally underrated.”
Fans on X couldn’t help but joke about Windhorst as if he were a young backup quarterback finally getting his shot to start.
They said Windy ready to run with the ones https://t.co/AOTal1dzzX
— Trill Withers (@TylerIAm) September 20, 2024
Football terms:
ARodger’s getting his opportunity after Favre retired the first time.— #RockinWithMark (@HpEazzzy) September 21, 2024
Windy getting called up to the big leagues pic.twitter.com/8eFIIAcfxR
— IQC (@ivancanfield) September 20, 2024
I’ve never seen a news outlet hype up a sports reporter like he was a backup QB ready to take first team reps 😂😭
— DT (@DanExellente) September 20, 2024
A few fans imagined Woj as the veteran QB imparting knowledge to his protege. But in their line of work, the equivalent may simply be importing phone contacts.
Woj’s last day he’s air dropping all of his contacts to Windy in a touching ceremony.
— Branden Gilbert 🐉 (@Branden_Gilbert) September 20, 2024
Windhorst does make sense if ESPN wants to promote someone internally. But he’s far from the only contender to take Woj’s place.
Two prominent names not currently employed by ESPN have also been identified as potential Woj replacements.
