Fernando Mendoza ‘stolen’ interview ignites Fox Sports civil war as insider rips colleague: ‘Terrible what he did’
Jon “Stugotz” Weiner rips Colin Cowherd for backstabbing colleagues after the projected No. 1 overall pick was poached from Covino & Rich during the network’s chaotic week in San Francisco.
The Seattle Seahawks may have hoisted the Lombardi Trophy at Levi’s Stadium, but the biggest postgame fallout from Super Bowl LX may not be what happened on the field.
Instead, a civil war has ignited within Fox Sports Radio following the alleged “theft” of an interview with Indiana’s Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback, Fernando Mendoza.
Quarterback Mendoza led the Hoosiers to the National Championship and an undefeated season
While the dust has settled on the Seahawks’ 29–13 victory over the Patriots, the tension at the Fox Sports Radio booth is just beginning to boil over.
The controversy centers on veteran titan Colin Cowherd, who stands accused of sniping a scheduled interview with Mendoza away from evening hosts Steve Covino and Rich Davis.
During the lead-up to the Big Game, Mendoza, the national champion and consensus projected No. 1 overall pick, was the most hunted man on Radio Row. While he was selectively booked for major hits with Pat McAfee and Kay Adams, Covino & Rich had officially secured a coveted sit-down with the Hoosier star.
However, in a move that has since been dubbed “Fernando-gate”, the interview never made it to the evening airwaves. Instead, Mendoza appeared on The Herd with Colin Cowherd.
The newest face at the network, Jon “Stugotz” Weiner, has spent the days following the Super Bowl launching a direct attack against Cowherd for the move.
Stugotz, who joined the network last month, hasn’t minced words about his new colleague’s tactics. On his podcast, Stugotz and Company, he laid into Cowherd for undermining the grind of the on-site hosts.
“It’s terrible what he did to Covino and Rich,” Stugotz said on his podcast, Stugotz and Company.
“For every 10 big guests Colin gets, those guys get one. Right? So let them have their big guest. It’s Radio Row, they’re physically there. They’re grinding it out, they’re doing the shows.
“Because I’m telling you, if you go to Super Bowl week and you’re physically there, it’s different than being set up at your normal studio and just having guys filter guests into you.
“Those guys were there grinding; that guest was theirs. It was booked on their show, and Colin gets all these big guests. Those guys should get big guests every now and then.”
Mendoza is the projected No.1 pick in the upcoming draft and will almost certainly become a Raider
Cowherd is one of the biggest voices in all of sports
Fox Sports Radio is one of the most respected companies in the industry
Stugotz, pulling from his decades of experience at ESPN, accused Cowherd’s team of ordering a “Code Red” to secure the guest at the expense of their own colleagues.
“I’m tired of this sports radio game where there’s no accountability. I mean, everyone’s stabbing each other in the back,” Stugotz continued.
“I sat there middays with (Dan) Le Batard on ESPN Radio, and Mike & Mike were still doing their show. And they got all the guests. All of them.”
Covino and Davis both addressed the incident directly on their show, confirming they were indeed sniped.
While the duo attempted to keep the peace, blaming an “ancillary producer” and Mendoza’s own reps for the pivot, Cowherd’s executive producer, Greg Toohey, was forced to join the program to defend The Herd.
Toohey denied any intentional theft, shifting the responsibility to the chaotic nature of Super Bowl week and the quarterback’s PR team.
But for Stugotz, the explanation didn’t fly.
He continued to point out the disparity between Cowherd, who often broadcasts from a comfortable studio, and the hosts “working the trenches” in Santa Clara.
The fallout from the mishap with Mendoza highlights a growing rift within the Fox Sports Radio family. While the Super Bowl is over and the NFL is shifting its focus to the draft, where Mendoza is an -8000 favorite to go first overall to the Raiders, the civil war at Fox shows no signs of a ceasefire.
Whether this leads to a permanent frost between the midday and evening slots remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: in the world of sports radio, it’s a dog eat dog world.
