On Wednesday, Adrian Wojnarowski announced that he was retiring from his role as ESPN’s senior insider and taking over as the general manager of St. Bonaventure’s basketball team. The network is now hunting for a replacement and Pat McAfee believes there’s only one candidate worthy of taking over the mantle.
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On the Pat McAfee Show, the retired NFL star vouched for Shams Charania to replace Wojnarowski as ESPN’s go-to guy for insider news. He said,
“We do know another person who is preferably handsome. Good on TV. Plugged. Currently a free agent. Have there been texts and calls from the universe piecing this together seemingly? Shams Charania is the answer.”
Charania is currently working for The Athletic, but reports suggest that his deal with the company is set to expire in the next two months. The 30-year-old has a long history with Wojnarowski and could be the ideal replacement for the veteran reporter.
Shams and Woj’s Professional Rivalry
Charania and Wojnarowski have been competing for nearly seven years to be the first to break massive news. However, they started as mentor and mentee. As Ben Strauss explained in his Washington Post report, the relationship between the two is deeper than most realize.
During Charania’s junior year at Loyola University, Wojnarowski recruited the aspiring reporter to Yahoo Sports. The veteran took him under his wing and helped him build a network in NBA circles.
In 2017, Wojnarowski left Yahoo for ESPN and was keen on taking Charania with him to the network. However, the latter seized the opportunity and took his mentor’s old job.
Although the two have been competing to be the first to get scoops since then, they harbor no animosity for each other. The two hold each other in the highest regard as contemporaries.
Charania now has the opportunity to take over his former mentor’s old job. Whether he seizes the opportunity remains to be seen.
