Ryen Russillo is joining Bill Simmons’ The Ringer Podcast Network to host new weekly series “Dual Threat,” which will focus on both NFL and college football, TheWrap has learned.
Launching on Aug. 29, it will air throughout the football season and will be officially announced live on “Bill Simmons Podcast” on Friday.
Russillo and Simmons have more than just being longtime alums of ESPN in common, they both hail from Massachusetts and are lifelong New England sports fans.
“Working with Bill is something I’ve always wanted to do. I’ve always been a fan of his content but working with him at Grantland was the first time I realized his greatest talent is helping develop others around him,” former ESPN Radio host Russillo said in a statement.
“I love working with Ryen – it’s difficult to find someone to talk about sports with passion AND smarts who also does the homework and cares like a fan would,” Simmons added. “Every time he came on my podcast, it felt like we could have gone for hours. But more important, he’s from New England and that’s all I really care about.”
Starting in February post-Super Bowl LIII, Russillo will transition to the “Bill Simmons Podcast” every Monday to talk about their other passion — basketball — debating the hottest NBA storylines with Simmons for 22 straight weeks through the 2019 Finals and the first few days of free agency.
Russillo’s career spans from doing pre-game and post-game commentary for the New England Patriots on WBCN, to co-hosting numerous ESPN shows including “SVP & Russillo,” “The Russillo Show,” “Russillo and Kanell,” “The NBA Today” and “The Baseball Show.”
In December 2017, Russillo announced he was leaving ESPN to pursue other opportunities but has since appeared across various of the network’s platforms giving sports commentary.
The Ringer Podcast Network is one of the largest and podcast networks in the world and is home to 27 podcasts including the “Bill Simmons Podcast,” “The Dave Chang Show,” “Larry Wilmore: Black on the Air,” “Against All Odds with Sal Iacono” and “The JJ Redick Podcast.” The network generates over 32 millions downloads per month.