Who Could Be the Next Voice of Washington Football?
With the disgusting and horrific profile of the culture of sexual harassment in Ashburn detailed by The Washington Post, the Washington football team has been left without a radio play-by-play announcer. With less then two months to go and a chance that there will not be any preseason games to be ready, it is going to be difficult to find a good fit to put in the booth.
Not only is the team looking for a new play-by-play analyst, but per NBC Sports Washington’s JP Finlay, they could be looking to revamp the booth entirely.
NBC Sports Washington’s Julie Donaldson has already been announced as the new Senior VP of Media Content and will be in the booth but is not expected to do play-by-play. At least not yet.
If I had to guess, the team is giving her the experience needed to take those duties over in the near future.
To me, a local voice that fans are familiar with and can trust is the most important thing to filling this role. Whether it is a fresh face with minimal to no play-by-play experience, or a veteran of the area and knowledge of the team’s history, we must start looking forward.
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Here are my five that could be most likely to get the gig with a list of two dark horse candidates.
Steve Buckhantz
Steve Buckhantz is an institution unto himself. He called Washington Bullets/Wizards games from 1984 to 2017 before he and his partner, Phil Chenier, were booted from the broadcast booth. You may recognize his soundbite of “Dagger” that is used on local sports talk radio. Buckhantz is the most seasoned play-by-play commentator out of this below group. Putting him in the radio booth would make the most sense until they can get someone less seasoned some training to take over in the future. If the team is looking for someone who can take the helm for 10+ years, that is the only factor that could be working against him.
Chick Hernandez
Chick is another voice staple in the D.C. sports scene. He currently does play-by-play radio for the PGA Tour. Prior to this, he did a variety of different work at NBC Sports Washington until a reshuffle of talent found him without a seat. "Mr Chick" as he's affectionately known can also be heard as a fill-in guest on The Team 980 alongside “The Mouth of the South” Fred Smoot. Hernandez’s voice and stature among the local sports community can help deliver a sense of stability and ease among fans.
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Andy Pollin
Andy Pollin is known as “Mr. Washington Football” around these parts. For years, he was one half of The Sports Reporters alongside Steve Czaban before being unceremoniously dumped due to station reshuffling at The Team 980. A native of Maryland, Andy is now over at ESPN 630 where he does news updates and holds down the 10 am – 12 pm slot. Mr. Pollin’s knowledge of the game, the history of the franchise, and being in tune with where things stand today gives him a unique perspective that others would not be able to match.
Scott Jackson
If Andy Pollin is the modern-day Historian of the Washington franchise, then Scott Jackson is his understudy. Jackson has been the current pre-game and post-game show host of Washington football games on The Team 980 for six seasons. A former co-host and on-air reader at The Team 980 and current play-by-play announcer for both Monumental Sports and Virginia Commonwealth University Rams basketball games, Jackson has almost 30 years of radio experience. He is a voice that fans are familiar with, one that could slide easily into the booth, and someone that already has a relationship with Doc and Cooley that can be built on.
Grant Paulsen
Grant Paulsen would be an intriguing choice to hop in the booth with Doc and Cooley. Grant does not have as much play-by-play experience as his other counterparts. Paulsen is a young fresh face that can lend stability for years should he find his groove. Mr. Paulsen earned the opportunity to call DC Defender games from the radio booth and showed growth with each game. However, if they are grooming Julie to take over play-by-play duties, Grant would not be the logical choice.
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Dark Horse Candidates
Kevin Sheehan
Kevin Sheehan would be my likely front runner among non-traditional play-by-play announcers to take over in the booth. Kevin has been at the radio flagship for the team for almost 15 years and hosts his own podcast that can bring in some of the biggest names when needed. He partnered with current analyst Chris Cooley and has a chemistry already built in there and along with Doc who now follows him on The Team 980. Kevin has a unique handle on the game that he brings to his daily radio show that shines when interviewing local beat reporters, coaches, and players.
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Lindsay Czarniak
In a perfect world, Lindsay Czarniak would return to Washington, D.C. to cover Washington full-time. Lindsay co-hosted The George Michael Sports Machine with the late great George Michael and was a co-sports anchor with Dan Hellie at NBC 4 for six years. Ms. Czarniak then left Washington to take a position at The Worldwide Leader in 2011. Lindsay was a sideline reporter for the NFL on Fox during the 2019 season. The reason I say in a perfect world is that her husband Craig Melvin is currently an anchor for The Today Show and other various assignments for MSNBC and NBC News. It is unclear what the organization would want her role and time commitment to be with her currently leaving near the New York City area.
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Alan Lepore joins RedskinsReport.com while still doing outstanding work as an editor/writer at FullPressCoverage.com or @FPC_Redskins. You can follow him on Twitter @AlanLepore or on instagram @leporealan. Alan is a Villanova University MPA Nonprofit Management candidate and is a fundraising/development professional.
