The single highest honor an athlete can achieve is to be recognized by their peers as the best in the game. While trophies and Hall of Fame inductions require validation from those outside the sidelines, acknowledgment from those who play the game ranks highest. Greg McElroy played and won at the highest level of college football. He was the starting quarterback of the Alabama Crimson Tide when they clinched the BCS championship in 2010.
After being drafted in the seventh round of the 2011 NFL Draft, McElroy announced his retirement from the NFL just three years later. He had his sights set on law school but took the advice of his friends and pursued an opportunity in sports media. Since joining ESPN in 2014, McElroy has carved his own lane in sports media through success at the network and in local sports radio at WJOX in Birmingham. Last month, for the fourth straight year, McElroy was once again recognized by his peers as part of the best morning show in a mid-market.
“The people that vote on it are program directors and people that know what good sports radio is supposed to sound like,” said McElroy. “A lot of awards are awesome and it’s great to get recognition. It’s even more special when it comes from people who know how hard it is to do morning radio.”
For the last four years, McElroy and co-host Cole Cubelic have been the voices waking up Birmingham sports fans on JOX 94.5. The opportunity, like most of McElroy’s media breaks, came down to timing. While working at ESPN with SEC Network, McElroy also expanded into sports radio with SiriusXM.
Listening to sports radio as a child sparked his interest in the format. Growing up in Los Angeles, McElroy recalled tuning in to Lee “Hacksaw” Hamilton and Jim Rome. Those influences fueled interest in what once felt unrealistic but remained a dream job.
“When I was getting ready to finish up my contract with SiriusXM, I started entertaining the possibility of going local or doing a podcast,” said McElroy. “The national radio perspective is great, nothing wrong with it. I just always want to follow my gut instinct about where things are going, and found myself listening to a lot more team-specific content. For me, I found myself going a little more local and that really opened up my mind.”
WJOX Impact On Alabama Football
McElroy credits his work in radio, both on satellite and locally at WJOX, for strengthening his television presence. Television marked his start in sports media in 2014, but he prefers radio for its flexibility and time to develop conversations beyond the constraints of live television. The immediate fan reaction and freedom to explore topics helped him find his voice.
An admitted morning person, McElroy cannot imagine working another time slot at WJOX. The eagerness to be the first voice on the biggest topics energizes him, reinforced by his athlete’s mentality. Ironically, he now works at WJOX after a successful college career at Alabama.
“That was the one time in my life that I didn’t listen to sports talk radio. When I was playing for Alabama,” said McElroy. “It just wasn’t healthy.”
For the last 20 years, WJOX has served as the local flagship of The Paul Finebaum Show, a nationally recognized sports radio program featuring one of the most consequential voices surrounding the Southeastern Conference and Alabama football. McElroy, who played at Alabama from 2007 to 2010, admitted he never listened to Finebaum while he was a player.
Now years removed from his playing days, McElroy finds himself a teammate of Finebaum at ESPN and SEC Network. Time has also brought appreciation for the respected sports talker and the role he plays in keeping fans engaged with Saturdays in the South.
“He’s been so big for so long in this market. It’s been good for fans here in the southeast to give them a voice. There’s a lot of benefits to that,” explained McElroy. “People in this part of the world have such ownership in their teams. Giving them a platform where they can make their feelings known is really unique. It’s not surprising to see the success he’s had.”
During McElroy’s time at Alabama, he played under Nick Saban. The seven-time national championship-winning head coach has also moved into sports media. Saban signed with ESPN in 2024 as an analyst on College GameDay and has since earned recognition as an Emmy Award-winning analyst for the network.
McElroy, now working alongside his former coach, says Saban still does not consider himself “one of you” when it comes to sports media. Still, the opportunity to collaborate with his former head coach has brought McElroy great joy.
“We spend quite a bit of time together. It’s funny because he still doesn’t view himself as a member of the media. He won’t,” said McElroy. “There have been a lot of great voices in sports media that coached for a long time. But no one has had the success he’s had. It’s great to hear his perspective. It’s funny that he’s on this side of the microphone giving his disdain for press conferences.”
Balancing the Sports Media Playbook
Between his ESPN responsibilities and hosting mornings at WJOX, McElroy also leads a growing college football podcast, Always College Football. When ESPN approached him about the project after partnering with Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions, McElroy called the opportunity a no-brainer.
“We had talked about doing a podcast forever, but we never had the right partner,” said McElroy. “With Peyton, this is going to be staffed and resourced properly. I know with him, there’s no stone left unturned… Also knowing that it was going to be in relationship with ESPN. It was like if not now, then when.”
McElroy’s reasoning for taking on the challenge is simple. Balancing a podcast, daily radio show, and analyst duties at ESPN becomes a “beast” for five months each year. However, the season carries a clear expiration date, and his professional life has always followed a seasonal rhythm. The podcast’s growth now reaches millions of listeners, surpassing 15 million last year.
“It’s just grown a lot. We’re very lucky and proud of what we built, and continuing to build on it,” said McElroy. “Right now, I just don’t want to mess anything up and keep going. That’s where I’m at with it.”
ESPN Impact on Football
A self-admitted football traditionalist, McElroy has circled this coming February on his calendar for some time. It marks ESPN’s first opportunity to broadcast the Super Bowl.
Having contributed to the network’s presentations of the College Football Playoff National Championship, McElroy paid closer attention to this year’s Super Bowl broadcast while thinking about what could come next February.
“There’s so much more going on at the Super Bowl than any other game. You can feel that as a former player. I think I might have paid more attention to it this year than in the past because I know ESPN is going to have it next year,” explained McElroy. “I’m really looking forward to seeing what ESPN/ABC does.”
Without positioning himself as a “company man,” McElroy believes ESPN presents college and professional football better than any other network. His only advice for network executives covering his favorite game of the year is simple: do not overthink it.
“I’m going to watch the traditional broadcast. That’s the way I’ve always been. I’ve been a part of a million mega-casts, but I know that my wife would want to watch something that might be more personality or story driven,” explained McElroy. “It’s all about celebrating the game and presenting it tastefully.”
Despite his success at ESPN and national recognition from his peers for his work at WJOX, McElroy still loves being in the booth on Saturdays above all. He never takes opportunities for granted, but he chooses radio and podcasting because of the games themselves.
“Those games are why we’re in the business we’re in,” said McElroy. “As long as those games are being played, there’s going to be an audience for radio and podcasting. If those games go away, I’m not sure who’s listening. But they all feed each other; that’s the beauty of it. We have people that watch our games because we build the interest all week on radio and podcasts. They go hand in hand.”
In many ways, McElroy’s career has come full circle — from tuning out sports radio as Alabama’s quarterback to becoming one of the most respected voices shaping it. He worked under Nick Saban, alongside Paul Finebaum, and now shares production meetings and conversations with both as colleagues.
Yet for all the titles, platforms, and accolades, his compass has not changed.
The validation that matters most still comes from people who understand the grind — coaches, players, program directors, broadcasters — those who know how difficult it is to remain consistently sharp at 6 a.m. or on live television when the stakes are high.
McElroy once walked into stadiums as the quarterback entrusted with Alabama’s offense. Today, he walks into WJOX studios and broadcast booths around the country carrying a different responsibility: to inform, to entertain, and to respect the game that built his career.
As long as football is being played, Greg McElroy plans to be there — microphone on, headset ready — still chasing the same standard that defined him as a player: earn the respect of the people who know the game best.
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