Chris "Mad Dog" Russo thinks there was more behind Molly Qerim's ESPN exit than just timing.
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During an appearance on the SI Media Podcast with Jimmy Traina, Russo said he believes Qerim left First Take before her contract expired because she didn't want to finish the year as what he called a "lame duck." He also suggested she may have felt "embarrassed" about the optics of being on air while her future was in question.
"I think she precipitated it. I think, probably, she felt embarrassed," Russo said. "If the world thought she was a lame duck and she was still doing the show, that probably had something to do with it."
Russo added that Stephen A. Smith personally called him the night before Qerim's departure to share the news, saying he was "very surprised."
"She was on air a long time," Russo said. "They probably wanted to move her around a little bit and try something different. Not that the ratings were bad, but that's just the nature of TV. I think they wanted to keep her with the network, but maybe she didn't want to do SportsCenter. She probably saw that as a demotion."
Qerim hosted First Take for 10 years and had been with ESPN since 2005. She confirmed her departure last month on Instagram, saying the news "came out earlier than I intended."
ESPN president of content Burke Magnus told The Athletic that both sides had already agreed she'd be taken off the show at the end of the year and that she wanted to "explore other things."
In the meantime, ESPN is trying out several hosts — including Amina Smith, MJ Acosta Ruiz, Peter Schrager and Shae Cornett — while figuring out who will take over full-time.
