ESPN president reveals how ‘College GameDay’ will approach talks about Lee Corso’s future this offseason
During podcast with Sports Illustrated, Burke Magnus also explained how well Nick Saban has been integrated with Pat McAfee
ESPN president Burke Magnus is excited that his network’s signature college pre-game show “College GameDay” is closing in on its most successful season ever.
Pairing retired Alabama coach Nick Saban with the bombastic Pat McAfee has been a huge hit, creating an energetic scene both on campus and bursting through TVs nationwide.
But any conversation about the show’s success eventually comes around to Lee Corso, the 89-year-old who also left coaching to become the show’s icon.
During a podcast interview released Thursday with Sports Illustrated’s Jimmy Traina, Magnus explained his thoughts about Corso’s involvement with the show beyond this season.
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“I think we’re going to do what we’ve done now for a couple years running, which is we’re gonna have a conversation with him after the season and see where things are,” Magnus told Traina.
“You know, he’s a special guy. I mean, he’s one of the nicest men you or any of your listeners or anybody on Earth could ever come across. And he’s been absolutely iconic on the show. So we’re going to get through the playoff this year, let everybody decompress, and then we’ll have some time to figure out what we’re going to do for next season.”
Corso’s headgear picks at the show’s conclusion is a huge reason why GameDay is so popular. It’s almost impossible to see someone else carry on that legacy, and it’s unthinkable to expect Saban would put on a mascot head.
But Saban is clearly getting more comfortable with McAfee’s tomfoolery every week. The coach is slowly letting his hair down.
Even while Saban was still coaching Alabama, Magnus said, “we had done enough with him on the set to know that he was going to be really good.”
“His first show ever for us was the NFL Draft in Detroit, and it was like fireworks going off. This guy had just walked off the sideline. He knew every single player in the draft. He had immaculate preparation. He did a Ph.D. level sort of X-and-O breakdown, but he could also talk to about kids as people and players as people. He’s really pretty special.”
“I think the combination of Pat and Nick and that really special kind of Odd Couple relationship that they seem to have forged pretty quickly is really special,” Magnus said.
When you add the rest of the cast and components, Magnus said the show is destined to break viewing records “because it’s really good.”
