By admin 
Who are the real faces of ESPN right now?
Some could point to ESPN’s top NFL announcers, like Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, for their role covering the league. Others might point to someone like Kirk Herbstreit, who has been the face of the network’s college football coverage for more than a decade.
Read more Two Women Who Wore ‘Inappropriate’ Dresses to Taylor Swift’s Wedding Identified
But, in reality, the true faces of ESPN are the people we see on the network every single day. And no one shows up on ESPN more these days than Stephen A. Smith and Pat McAfee, who both lead their own shows and appear on a handful of others.
Longtime ESPN host Linda Cohn appeared on Yahoo Sports Daily and she was asked if McAfee has supplanted Smith as the true face of the network.
But she ultimately believes it’s a title both men hold.
“It’s apples and oranges,” she said. “They’re totally different people, totally different shows, totally different lanes they’re in.”
Read more CNN’s Abby Phillip Criticizes U.S. Lawmakers For Backing WNBA Star Caitlin Clark
Cohn believes McAfee, Smith have their own models
Cohn thinks that McAfee is kind of following the Dan Patrick model, where you build up an entire team around you.
“My former colleague Dan Patrick did that way before,” Cohn said. “Dan had built a team of guys around him in his little man cave type of situation. Pat McAfee basically did the same thing, and kudos to him. He built it up even bigger, and he convinced ESPN and anyone else who wanted to take him on that it was the right move.”
Smith, meanwhile, is doing it more on his own.
“Stephen A. is one of the hardest-working people, next to Adam Schefter, in this business,” she said. “He’s asked to do things, he’s always on, he hardly ever says no. He does radio, he has his own channel, he does TV as we know, he does First Take, and he’s a survivor. He just keeps going. That’s in his DNA.”
Read more Narrowing Down Patriots’ Position Groups: Which Starting Jobs Are Available?
You might not like them, but it’s hard to argue against their success.
Copyright The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved
This story was originally published July 12, 2026 at 6:09 AM.