ESPN’s popular debate show First Take is reportedly about to go under another makeover, with news breaking yesterday that the network is looking to replace Max Kellerman on the show. If you remember, Kellerman took over in 2016 for Skip Bayless, who went to Fox Sports. Stephen A. Smith, who is undoubtedly the star of the program, is set to remain on the show with a variety of co-stars set to fill in until they can find a permanent replacement.
As ESPN and First Take set out to figure out the future of the show, we put together what we think is a solid list of five candidates to take over for Kellerman. We have no idea where the show is going to go from here, but we do know that with Stephen A. Smith still on the program, there are worthy options out there to make an entertaining TV show. We also want to make clear that we have no inside information on what ESPN is going to do on the show, but these are just options that we think would make a lot of sense. Check out our thoughts below.
ESPN’s popular debate show First Take is reportedly about to go under another makeover, with news breaking yesterday that the network is looking to replace Max Kellerman on the show. If you remember, Kellerman took over in 2016 for Skip Bayless, who went to Fox Sports. Stephen A. Smith, who is undoubtedly the star of the program, is set to remain on the show with a variety of co-stars set to fill in until they can find a permanent replacement.
As ESPN and First Take set out to figure out the future of the show, we put together what we think is a solid list of five candidates to take over for Kellerman. We have no idea where the show is going to go from here, but we do know that with Stephen A. Smith still on the program, there are worthy options out there to make an entertaining TV show. We also want to make clear that we have no inside information on what ESPN is going to do on the show, but these are just options that we think would make a lot of sense. Check out our thoughts below.
Marcus Spears
Marcus Spears is at the top of our list for a simple fact: he works GREAT with Stephen A. Smith. They already have a built in chemistry and dynamic that you can see every single time they’re on screen together. Not only that, but Spears knows his stuff. As a former NFL player, he brings a fresh perscepctive to the show while being able to debate about other sports. Spears is already a regular on First Take and Get Up as well, so this would be an easy transition for everyone involved.
Mina Kimes
Mina Kimes is a rising star at ESPN and is not only super entertaining, but is one of the smartest football minds on TV. She currently stars on NFL Live, but frequently appears on a number of ESPN shows, including First Take. She’s great at getting her points across in a debate and has squared up against Stephen A. Smith before. This would be a home run decision by ESPN if they went in this direction.
Kendrick Perkins
If you were betting on a full-time replacement for Max Kellerman at this very moment, it would be hard to not make Kendrick Perkins the favorite. Perk has quickly become a star on TV for ESPN and continually makes moments happen that you don’t see coming. Like the Quavo beef earlier this year. He’s entertaining and has the whole “hot take TV guy” thing down pat. Perk could surely take this job and run with it.
Pat McAfee
This is a total moonshot and our first entrant who isn’t a current ESPN talent. Pat McAfee has grown into one of the biggest names in sports media over the past few years, with his own Sirius XM show that airs daily. McAfee is also a commentator on WWE’s Smackdown show, which airs on Friday nights. We say this is a longshot because McAfee is currently doing so well with his own show and programs, it would be hard to see him giving that up. Hell, he’s the only guy in media who gets Aaron Rodgers to call into his show every week during the NFL season. In the ultimate hypotethical world however, seeing him debate Stephen A. Smith every single day would be awesome television. We just don’t see any way that McAfee would do it.
Nick Wright
From the standpoint of putting a sports debate TV show together, this makes a lot of sense. Why? Well, because Nick Wright already stars on his own sports debate TV show on Fox. Wright is great at debating on television and has the appropriate amount of hot takes to send Stephen A. Smith flying on a daily basis. One big snag here is that Wright currenlty works for Fox, and as we said, already has his own show. Could the luster of joining Stephen A. Smith and ESPN lure Wright away? Who knows, but if it did, we can only imagine what that first LeBron James debate would look like.