We May Miss Dan Patrick More Than You Ever Imagined

Now that Dan Patrick has made it official that he will be leaving ESPN August 17 to pursue other interests, it's time to speculate on who will be hired to replace him on ESPN radio. I'm sure Colin Cowherd will be vying for the job, but his schtick seems to fit in best with the morning radio crowd. Steve Mason certainly has the credentials for the job, tho I don't know that he necessarily has the name recognition. But there is another guy out there who already has a big following amongst ESPN viewers and has recently begun a foray into radio. As he himself might write in the announcement:

Oh my God! That's Bill Simmons' music!!

Granted, this is a bit far-fetched, but in some ways, it makes sense. For example:

-Despite what you might read from blogs, Simmons is one of the most popular personalities at ESPN.
-Simmons has made it clear for years that he's frustrated with only being a blogger, and now that he's pushing 40, is looking to do more.
-This summer, Simmons began his "BS report" podcast on espn, and has been a frequent guest on Adam Carolla's radio show. Could it be that ESPN brass has known for some time that Patrick is leaving, and these were presented as some preliminary opportunities for training before getting called up to "The Show?"
-In recent months, Simmons and Colin Cowherd have entered into a bit of an ongoing feud. Could this have been fabricated to create a rivalry between the two to generate interest in a back-to-back lineup of Cowherd and Simmons?

Of course, there are some factors working against this move. Other ESPN radio personalities have seniority and would certainly be upset if Simmons were to leapfrog them. Simmons works better when he has someone to play off of, and it's unlikely that ESPN will hire Sully and J-Bug to co-host. Simmons is in LA and the national shows tend to be broadcast from Bristol. Finally, and most importantly, Simmons has a terrible radio voice (tho really, is it any worse than Cowherd's?)

All in all, I'd consider it unlikely for Bill Simmons to outright replace Dan Patrick. However, given the recent added exposure that ESPN has given guys like Steven A Smith and Stu Scott, I suppose anything is possible.