June 06, 2023
Less than a year after becoming a co-host for Fox Sports 1's afternoon block, former Eagles running back LeSean McCoy could be lining up for one of the biggest – and most contentious – seats in sports talk television.
Per Front Office Sports, McCoy is emerging as an early contender to succeed Shannon Sharpe as Skip Bayless' next debate partner on "Undisputed" and is expected to have an extended audition on the opposite side of the desk once Sharpe's contract buyout and departure are made complete.
Sharpe, a Hall of Fame tight end and growing media personality, has had public and increasing friction with Bayless, who's been an extremely polarizing figure in sports media for years, ever since Bayless made a tone-deaf tweet in the wake of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin's on-field cardiac arrest back in January and refused to take it down.
Sharpe didn't appear on the show the following morning and a heated exchange was had on the air upon his return.
The show continued on, but tensions appeared to have eventually reached a boiling point, with word breaking this past week that Sharpe would soon be exiting the program.
McCoy, who has been on the rise within sports media as a part of FS1's "SPEAK" since September, has developed an on-air personality that could be a good foil to Bayless, but only if gets signed off on.
LeSean McCoy has emerged as an early possible contender to succeed Shannon Sharpe on “Undisputed,” sources tell FOS.@byajperez and @MMcCarthyREV's exclusive ⤵️
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) June 6, 2023
According to the Front Office Sports report, Bayless will have "final say" on his next debate partner and apparently isn't big on the idea of bringing someone in who challenges him too much.
McCoy was a second-round selection by the Eagles in the 2009 draft and in the six years that followed developed into one of the team's best players during that era, winning the rushing title in 2013 before Chip Kelly ousted him in 2015 via a trade to Buffalo.
He continued on for six more seasons, winning Super Bowls with the Chiefs in 2019 and then the Buccaneers in 2020 before signing a one-day contract with Philadelphia to retire as an Eagle in 2021.
McCoy currently co-hosts "SPEAK" with Joy Taylor and another former Eagle in Emmanuel Acho, both of which are also believed to be candidates for the second seat on "Undisputed."
>>SOURCE: Front Office Sports
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