Joe Girardi is looking for his next gig and it's not in the dugout. It's on TV.
The fired Yankees manager told Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic on ESPN2's "Mike and Mike in the Morning" that he's lined up several meetings about TV jobs. After 10 years as skipper of the Bronx Bombers, Girardi, his wife Kim and their three kids might welcome an easier schedule.
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“I’m probably going to broadcast for a year and see where that takes me, and see where that takes our lives. Then see what other opportunities are out there after broadcasting for a year," Girardi told Mike & Mike on Wednesday.
He added there's "nothing set in stone" yet.
"It’s still pretty early in the off-season for me and I have some meetings. I’m going to meet about some broadcasting opportunities and we’ll just go from there," Girardi said.
Aided by blossoming young stars such as Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez, the 54-year old Girardi led the surprising 91-71 Yankees to Game 7 of the American League Championship Series before falling to the eventual World Series champion Astros.
He has prior TV experience, working for the YES Network and Fox Sports more than a decade ago before launching his managing career with the Marlins and Yankees.
So who would be interested in hiring Girardi?
There's the Yankees' own YES Network, where Girardi worked in 2007 before taking over the club in 2008.
But Girardi told The Associated Press he won't be back on YES after being fired by the Yankees on Oct. 26.
“I think that would be kind of strange,” he said.
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ESPN has been scaling back its MLB studio coverage. The network is also poised to lay off 100 staffers in front of and behind the camera after Thanksgiving.
Then again, the Worldwide Leader in Sports always seems to find some spare money for big-name coaches and managers.
Witness former Oregon coach Chip Kelly, who's cooling his heels as a college football TV analyst until he lands his next coaching job.
MLB Network is big, national and growing. It's based in Secaucus, N.J., not far from Girardi's home in Westchester County, N.Y.
So chalk up MLB Network as a strong possibility. The network declined to comment on Girardi.
That brings us to Fox, which is coming off a stellar Fall Classic and strong postseason TV ratings. We know Fox likes to hire ex-Yankees such as Alex Rodriguez and Nick Swisher.
Girardi's going to want a national gig and Fox fits the bill. So I make Fox the leader in the clubhouse for Girardi's next stop.
Fox declined to comment.