I think WEEI bringing on Michael Smith as a host is a bit of a pipe dream at this point, when you consider that just about every staffing move they've made in the past 3 years was also a cost-cutting measure. Gotta think Smith is pulling at least mid-six figures at ESPN. He'd be crazy to leave a high-profile national gig with his own daily TV show & podcast, in addition to his writing and E:60 contributions, to jump onboard a sinking ship like WEEI. I could have seen it happening 5-6 years ago when Smith was still relatively unknown and Entercom was doling out multi-year contracts @ $1MM+/yr. Those days are long gone and probably won't be coming back anytime soon.
With that said, here's my proposed WEEI weekday lineup:
6 am - 10 am: Host Dale Arnold plays role of middleman betwenn antagonists Gerry Callahan & Kirk Minihane. Dale keeps the dialogue on track and is able to rein in Callahan/Minihane when necessary. This trio was on the air for about a week when Dennis was on vacation several months back and it was the best show I'd heard on EEI in years. Callahan is much more tolerable when not constantly egged on by Dennis. May not win back the younger end of the 25-54 male demo from T&R, but they could make a dent in the middle to older portions.
10 am - 2 pm: Host Mike Giardi with co-host Lou Merloni. Giardi has energy and personality, but without the phony radio persona of a Muttnansky. Have been impressed with him as a fill-in in the past. Still think Merloni has promise and can be salvaged if paired with the right co-host who is more capable of driving the conversation.
2 pm - 6 pm: Michael Holley and Chris Mannix, with flash boy Mike Muttnansky. I've been really dissappointed with Holley since the demise of Dale & Holley, but WEEI hasn't done him any favors in his cohost pairings. For Holley to be successful, I think it's critical he's paired with someone he has real chemistry with (not Salk) and can relate to (not Ordway). Mannix, being a relatively young guy with local roots and national connections from his time at SI & NBC Sports, would be an interesting hire and could work well with Holley, similar to Max Kellerman back in the day. He's also done a decent job with fill-in radio duty on WEEI in years past, and more recently nationally with NBC Sports. He still needs some broadcasting seasoning, but there's promise if he's given time to develop. Plus the Holley/Manix duo would be the place to go for Celtics/NBA talk, one area both stations are lacking. I hate Muttnansky as a lead host, but think he could be effective as occassional comic relief / ball busting target.
6 pm - 10 pm: John Ryder and a rotating member of WEEI.com staff (Rob Bradford, Alex Speier, Chris Price, DJ Bean, Mike Petraglia, et. al) or other Boston sports media guest, depending on season, news of the day, etc. Ryder continues to be the Tim Wakefield of the EEI staff and is the most underappreciated guy at the station. He's probably the most objective & rational guy on the radio, an anti-Adam Jones, which earns a thumbs-up in my book. Unfortunately Ryder won't win you many ratings wars, but at least EEI still has the Sox & Celtics games at night going for them.
Guys I would drop ASAP:
John Dennis & Mikey Adams (no explanation needed), John Saucier (is he supposed to be funny?), and Mike Salk. I know he has his proponents among the media critics, but I'm sorry, Salk does absolutely nothing for me. People around here were ready and willing to embrace him when he started and he still flopped, failing to generate a buzz or ratings pop in his first full Boston Arbitron book. I agree with several others that Salk is dull and resorts to inventing contrived "First Take"-like controversies in order to generate conversation (is the Patriot Way dead? Are pro sports more entertaining when athletes are on PEDs?) And perhaps most aggravating is his belief that the listening audience gives two and a half craps about the trivial happenings of his day-to-day life. I can only listen to Salk drone on and on about his difficulty finding a parking space, the pedicure he got over the weekend, and his excessive perspiration problems for so long before remembering just how much the show sucks. I don't know precisely what it is, but there's something about Salk that just rubs me the wrong way. There's no chemistry between Salk & Holley either, and it's starting to sound like they're having a harder time hiding their dislike for one another.