#ESPN’s Laura Rutledge pays tribute to ‘legendary’ Mike Golic

For colleagues of ESPN, losing Mike Golic as a radio host leaves them with a heavy heart.

On Tuesday, ESPN released their new weekday lineup of hosts to debut Aug. 17, a lineup which no longer includes Golic. This will be the first time Golic will not be hosting an ESPN Radio in roughly two decades.

Golic began as a radio host in October of 1998. Since then, he’s earned a massive following and praise within the sports media community. He even inspired his son, Mike Golic Jr., to pursue sports media. Golic Jr. is now hosting a new show with WNBA star Chiney Ogwumike.

Laura Rutledge, who was an SEC Network host before recently being given hosting duties for “NFL Live,” paid tribute to Golic Wednesday on Twitter.

“I’ll never forget the first time I met @espngolic,” Rutledge wrote. “I was a 27 year old nobody, yet he treated me with incredible kindness and respect. That’s a common theme here today as people celebrate his career. The career is legendary and when it comes to people, he’s one of the good ones.”

The Post’s Andrew Marchand reported that the contracts of both Golic and Trey Wingo are expiring this year, and their future roles remain unclear. The pair have been a host of “Golic & Wingo” since November 2017. Golic’s former partner, Mike Greenberg, will be back on a show starting at noon, and will continue to host his morning show, “Get Up.”