Dan Patrick knows ESPN. It's what put him on the map, back in the 1990s, back when SportsCenter was good. Back then, it carried the network.
These days, it's all about "hot takes" and building around opinion. Stephen A. Smith and First Take are a good example of that. So are the countless NFL and NBA shows. For better or worse, ESPN has really changed under the ownership of Disney, and mostly, as it aims to keep pace with the thousands of streaming services and social media accounts.
Anyway, a recent report suggested that the network was about to offer retired Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce a position on the Monday Night Countdown pregame show.
Patrick told Kelce to just say no.
"You don't just come in and do Monday Night Countdown," Patrick said on his popular radio show. "There's so much more they'll ask you to do. It's called the car wash for a reason. You go in and you'll be on this show and this show and this show and this show. You're at their demand."
Jason Kelce is reportedly on ESPN's radar. (Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Kelce is also said to be on the radar of other outlets — such as CBS, NBA and Amazon Prime.
As for ESPN, Patrick once offered similar advice to Charles Barkley, the star of TNT's Inside the NBA.
"I want to hear Charles one time. I don't want it to be watered down that you're hearing it three or four times over the course of the day. If you go to ESPN you have to really be geared up to, 'I really like being on TV. I really like being on radio. I really like doing somebody's podcast,'" Patrick said. "If Jason Kelce is interested in that, that could be the place for him. I wouldn't advise him to go there because I think he's a unique voice right now and I would want to have one place where I could hear him."
"You don't just come in and do Monday Night Countdown... I wouldn't advise him to go there because I think he's a unique voice right now and I would want to have one place where you would hear him."
-DP's advice to @JasonKelce with ESPN pursing him pic.twitter.com/pvXvpFr9VG
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) March 27, 2024
