This is Albert Breer’s last week with the Boston Globe before he joins the NFL Network next week. In his weekly chat on Friday, Chad Finn answered the following question from a reader:

What’s the Globe’s plan that Bert is leaving? 
 
Chad Finn:
Not my place to divulge names, but I know of at least one pretty well-known NFL writer who interviewed this week. I know Bert took a lot of heat from readers for his occasional contrarianism, but I’ll miss him. The only person I’ve met in this business who exudes a genuine passion for football like Bert does is Mike Reiss. He did get a very sweet gig at the NFL Network. He’ll be making 150 TV appearances over the course of a year as well as writing for NFL.com as one of their eastern correspondents.

It is a great gig for Breer, no question about it.

So who has interviewed at the Globe, and who might they consider hiring as a replacement for Breer has the top NFL writer?

Here is my very short list.

1) Todd Archer, Dallas Morning News  (@toddarcher )

A source tells me that Archer (right), Breer’s former coworker at the DMN, was actually very seriously considered when the Globe hired Breer. In fact, they may have preferred him over Breer, but couldn’t get the details worked out.

I don’t know if they would still have the same level of interest this time around, but Archer, who I believe does have Boston ties, would have to be considered a serious candidate.

2) Greg A Bedard, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel(@Greg_A_Bedard )

I believe strongly that Bedard (right) is the “pretty well-known NFL writer” cited by Finn in his above chat. Ultimately, I think he is the one who may well end up with the job. In fact, my source says he’s been offered the job. He’s also got local ties, as Breer himself pointed out in a training camp blog post that Bedard did for Boston.com on the Packers, noting that like Breer, Bedard is a “Lincoln-Sudbury guy.” Prior to covering the Packers, Bedard covered the Miami Dolphins for the Palm Beach Post.

Bedard is prolific on Twitter, which is where I first came across him. This interview with Cheesehead TV gives you some more of his background, and that he cites the Boston Globe as  big influence on his career. (Uh oh, a slight slam at Shaughnessy in there.) This more recent interview with a Rutgers blog (Bedard is an alum) has Bedard weighing in on Devin McCourty, also a Rutgers product: “I like Devin McCourty but don’t think he’ll be any better than a pretty good player (not elite).”

In the end, I think Bedard is the one that they want, the questions will be a) whether he wants to move his family, and b) if the job, as offered is going to be appealing to him. How much support will he get from management…will he feel comfortable with the beat writers already in place at the Globe? Is the Boston Globe still an appealing destination for writers to come to?

I think we’ll find out relatively soon. I believe the position will be filled rather quickly, one way or the other.

Published by Bruce Allen

Automattician.

10 thoughts on “Who Will The Globe Hire To Replace Albert Breer?”

  1. So, if either of these writers come here will they stay decent or will they (like Breer) be infected with the “fling feces against the wall to see what sticks” agenda-driven hack disease that seems to infect all Globe sport dept. hires these days?

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  3. Does anyone still read the Globe sports? I check Mike Reiss every day, and get the rest of my sports from national web sites. Why would anyone want to read these entertainment reporters who think they are Woodward and Bernstein investigating Watergate? Breer wasn't contrarian – he was negative. There's a difference. When did lowly sports reporters decide that they were muckraking journalists? They write about a game. They're no different from the people who cover Paris Hilton and Mel Gibson, yet you'd think they were covering the Viet Nam war or the BP oil spill.

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  6. I lost all respect for Finn with his continued defense of muck-raking, throw it against the wall, anti-Boston Globe writers, "…for his occasional contrarianism." Occasional contrarianism?? Try daily, multiple contrarianisms. Breer is a hack's hack. He takes the "contrarian" view to get noticed, some idiot thinks because he takes the opposite viewpoint, that he shows "strength". Ask the Dallas fans what they think of Einstein. That along with Finn's anxiety and angst over people questioning the 17% made me un-follow him.

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  7. Just a quick thought, but doesn't Chad Finn cover the media for Boston.com and the Globe? So wouldn't it be exactly his place to mention possible replacements?

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  8. Bruce – I hope you're right about Bedard. He's a very good writer, knowledgeable and has a strong football acumen. I follow him on Twitter and he's pretty good. I didn't know Archer was a local guy. Mortensen, Schefler and Peter King often retweet and reference him. I guess if you are writing about the C'boys you have to be pretty credible; Dallas being such a huge football town. Either one would be an upgrade over Breer who I wasn't impressed with – he's a nice guy but I never learned anything from his columns.

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  9. Is the Boston Globe still a place where talented writers still want to land?
    Are they still able to attract top-notch writers, or have they just become a stepping stone?
    Or are they simply looking to fill their quotas like they have with a pro football writer or two?
    The Globe's days as a prime destination ended about a half dozen years ago.

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  10. It's not that Breer was negative. It's that 50% of his blog posts and articles began with the words "I," "I've" or "I'm."

    Not every reader enjoys being called "you guys," either. Not a matter of stuffiness — just a simple matter of good lively writing.

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