Big changes are in store for WEEI’s morning drive-time program.
WEEI and Entercom on Wednesday night announced that radio personality Kirk Minihane is leaving the “Kirk and Callahan” show and will be starting his own show on Radio.com in 2019. The Boston Globe first reported the news, and Minihane also revealed his future plans on the “Sports Media With Richard Deitsch” podcast Wednesday night.
Minihane’s radio partner, Gerry Callahan, will stay with WEEI in the morning drive-time spot he’s held for years, WEEI said, and he’ll be joined by Mike Mutnansky. The station also said Callahan and Mutnansky will be joined a “rotating cast of Boston’s most charismatic and intriguing sports personalities” — whatever that means.
The news isn’t entirely surprising given developments in recent months. Callahan and Mutnansky have been steering the early-morning ship for WEEI after Minihane took a leave of absence to deal with an ongoing bout with severe depression. Minihane revealed on air during the summer that he had contemplated suicide and spent time in a psychiatric hospital for treatment.
He made a brief return before realizing he came back too quick and went back on leave. That happened in early September, and until a two-hour appearance Thursday morning, it was the last time Minihane appeared on WEEI’s airwaves as a host.
All the while, the sometimes cantankerous Minihane hinted at ongoing tension with WEEI and Entercom over his attempts to return to the air. For example:
And I’m not allowed on the radio? https://t.co/oMcXntQlgu
— Kirk Minihane (@kirkmin) November 2, 2018
He’ll still be back on air before me. https://t.co/IuWXnytFng
— Kirk Minihane (@kirkmin) November 7, 2018
And then:
Management at the station just asked me to delete my last tweet. Really looking forward to meeting with them tomorow.
— Kirk Minihane (@kirkmin) November 8, 2018
Then said meeting was had:
Time of meeting? 96 seconds. Enjoy Mut and Callahan.
— Kirk Minihane (@kirkmin) November 9, 2018
After that, the writing was kind of on the wall, but as Minihane revealed on the podcast with Deitsch, he is signed through 2021. He admitted there was talk about getting him out of his contract with the company, but ultimately the two sides apparently agreed on his new show on Radio.com that promises to “expand Kirk’s reach to a national audience and explore wide-ranging topics in addition to sports.”
It will be interesting to see if Minihane is able to bring anyone with him to his new venture. He tweeted Wednesday night that he was going to fight to bring his producers, Ken Laird and Chris Curtis, with him for his new show. He also even told Deitsch he’d like to bring the entire show and just do it on Radio.com, something he also mentioned during his return to WEEI on Thursday morning. That, however, seems unlikely, but we will have to wait and see.
