The news that Mike Keith is joining the Tennessee Vols from the Tennessee Titans still shakes me. On the day that Bob Kesling’s retirement was announced, I was very certain that this would occur. Mike Keith has always expressed his appreciation for the University of Tennessee and the renowned broadcaster Jon Ward. Although I don’t like it, I can see why he was interested in the Knoxville position.
Mike Keith served as Vice President, Broadcasting for the Titans. He does a lot more than just do the play-by-play on Sundays, as anyone who has followed the Titans’ official website will tell you. He leaves some enormous shoes to be filled.
The procedure for filling the position is unknown to me. Will Chad Brinker or Burke Nihil be responsible for this? It’s difficult to determine the structure of anything with the Titans these days.
Having said that, the following local men ought to be considered to succeed Mike Keith:
Outkick and Jonathan Hutton
I am completely supporting this guy. Before leaving 104.5 to join Outkick, Hutton spent a considerable amount of time working for Titans Radio. I understand that there are strong opinions about Outkick, but let’s put that aside for a while. You are already aware of Hutton’s excellence if you have listened to The Midday 180. His interviews were consistently excellent, regardless of who they invited to the show. He consistently demonstrated that he had done his homework. Additionally, Hutton is very close to Titans color analyst Dave McGinnis, whom the Titans should try to keep.
Kevin Ingram of Vandy Sports Ingram has provided play-by-play commentary for a number of Nashville-area teams. He presently covers Vanderbilt basketball and football play-by-play from the sidelines. For years, he was the host of The WakeUp Zone on 104.5. He is an excellent broadcaster.
Panzica Lucas, 104.5 The Zone
At 104.5, Panzica serves in a number of capacities, including hosting The Buck Reising Show, broadcasting for Nashville, South Carolina, and serving as the scoreboard host for Titans Radio, a position Mike Keith held when the team initially relocated here in 1997 as the Tennessee Oilers.
MTSU’s Joe Fisher
For 23 years, Fisher served as Vanderbilt’s play-by-play commentator. After a period of not broadcasting, he recently worked at Tennessee Tech and is now the play-by-play analyst for the MTSU women’s basketball team.
Boling, Will, 104.5 The Zone
At the moment, Boling co-hosts 104.5 The Zone with Ramon, Kyala, and Will. He has also participated in high school athletics, UT baseball, Nashville, South Carolina, and other play-by-play events.