Gregg Giannotti wouldn’t replace Pat McAfee with Rich Eisen: ‘Most boring talk show host in America’

Pat McAfee might be concerned by ESPN’s addition of Rich Eisen, but WFAN’s Gregg Giannotti can’t understand why.

Earlier this week, news broke that Eisen would take his daily show to ESPN’s direct-to-consumer streaming service this fall. The news garnered a lot of attention, considering it marks a return to ESPN for Eisen, who left for the NFL Network in 2003.

Currently, video of Eisen’s daily show airs on The Roku Channel, while audio airs nationally on Infinity Sports Network, which WFAN’s parent company, Audacy, owns. According to Giannotti, shedding Eisen’s daily show should be considered a win for Infinity Sports Network.

Maybe Audacy hosts aren’t worried about the pending loss of Eisen, but Pat McAfee certainly seemed a little curious about what the addition might mean for the future of his show on ESPN. McAfee and Eisen currently share a timeslot. Eisen, however, is expected to be exclusive to the streaming service and ESPN Radio, while McAfee’s show is simulcast by the network’s linear channel. Still, McAfee questioned if the addition of Eisen is a message from ESPN. And if it is a message, it’s not one that would resonate with Giannotti.

“All this Rich Eisen stuff that’s out there, I guess he’s going back to ESPN,” Giannotti told co-host Boomer Esiason Thursday morning. “And then I saw Pat McAfee made headlines when he said, ‘Oh, I guess ESPN’s trying to send me a message putting Rich Eisen on the same time I’m on.’ Man, there’s so much talk about Rich Eisen, he’s got to be the most boring talk show host in America. Why is everybody talking about it? Why does he have all these jobs?”

“He was a good studio host and he was good at reading highlights and doing highlights on ESPN,” Giannotti said. “The talk show is Ambien…Any clip that I see, it feels like they’re doing a remote from a funeral home. It could not be more boring.”

And it’s not just Eisen’s radio show that Giannotti dislikes. The WFAN personality recalled attending the 2023 NAB Marconi Radio Awards, which Eisen hosted.

“Smelling salts,” Giannotti said of the award show. “And then I hear all this hullabaloo about Rich Eisen…if Pat McAfee is really worried about Rich Eisen messing with his show, then some executive is gonna get fired because Pat McAfee show is interesting and entertaining…I can’t imagine that that’s actually a real thing. That they’re trying to send Pat McAfee a message by putting on Rich Eisen.”

Eisen isn’t McAfee as a host, and he isn’t Giannotti, Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo, or Colin Cowherd either. He’s not boisterous, and he doesn’t yell, create controversy, drop hot takes, or do a lot of things that, let’s face it, have historically made talk radio entertaining. But Eisen’s success proves there is a place for mild-mannered hosts who are good storytellers, land big guests, and have interesting conversations without seeking to go viral.

ESPN very well might consider Eisen and McAfee as being on entirely different tracks. However, considering that McAfee’s relationship with ESPN is always in question, having Eisen ready to fill any potential void might not be bad. If ESPN decides to bump McAfee for anyone, they better be sure there won’t be a ratings dip. McAfee would surely be waiting to pounce on ESPN if the show that replaces him has a drop in viewership.