I don't think Stephen A gets enough credit for the downfall of ESPN and too much blame falls on their parent company Disney.

He's played a huge role in their current roster. He only recruits jobbers like Ryan Clark, Dan Orlovsky, and Kendrick Perkins, who he knows is not a threat to replacing him (the one exception being Shannon Sharpe who is absurdly popular online).

Stephen A is an old relic from the Skip Bayless era, sports fans have moved on from inauthentic hot-take merchants. They instead want stat nerds and ball knowers like Nick Wright, Colin Cowherd, and Max Kellerman.