For years, the idea of Craig Carton returning to WFAN has been discussed, but predicting a timeline seemed far-fetched while the polarizing radio host was in prison. With his early release one-year into a three-and-a-half-year sentence, a return to radio now seems inevitable.
Even before he completed his sentence, WFAN did not hide their willingness to reunite with Carton. Although they don’t have an open slot in their lineup, the station would likely benefit from the spark Carton can provide. The WFAN morning show Carton helped build has continued to succeed with his replacement Gregg Giannotti. If a reunion with Boomer Esiason is off the table, it makes afternoons the most likely place for the drive-time talent.
Carton would immediately create buzz in a New York sports radio scene that has turned dull without its Kay-Francesa feud. Current FAN afternoon hosts Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts built themselves into appointment listening for breaking Mets and Jets news, but without sports, they’ve struggled to keep pace with Kay.
Earlier this month, Carton’s former producer and WFAN’s new market manager Chris Oliviero didn’t close the door on rehiring the polarizing host. But Oliviero also noted WFAN’s diversity issue, and hiring a 51-year old white male such as Carton won’t fix it.
“Your host should reflect the community you serve across the spectrum – diversity, age, however you want to define that,” Oliviero recently told Newsday. “So to me that’s going to be the goal with FAN moving forward. If you put a mirror up to FAN, does it reflect New York? Clearly, we have a lot of work to do on that front. We recognize that.”
If Carton is added to WFAN’s lineup, it could bump Joe and Evan back to middays, or possibly split the two considering Benigno often talks about retirement. Marc Malusis and Maggie Gray currently fill the 10am – 2pm timeslot, with Gray’s contract set to expire at the end of this year. In afternoons, Carton would likely be paired with a former athlete in hopes of developing chemistry like the one he found with Esiason more than a decade ago.
It might drive The New York Post’s Phil Mushnick into retirement, but former NBA player and current co-host of the All The Smoke podcast, Stephen Jackson would be an interesting pairing with Carton. Jackson has been very entertaining during his in-studio guest appearances with Boomer and Gio, while All The Smoke also shows off his unfiltered, opinionated style.
Recently, Jackson has become a well-known personality outside the sports world, as he took on the role of social activist following the murder of his friend George Floyd. Not only can Jackson provide the athlete perspective, but he would offer great contrast to Carton and help attract a younger demographic, similar to the way ESPN New York did when they added HOT 97’s Peter Rosenberg to The Michael Kay Show.
