This was a big interview for not only The Lead, but also the sports fan in me. I watch The Herd every day at 11 A.M., becoming smarter about sports each day I tune in. I have Colin Cowherd’s book You Herd Me; I anticipate Jason McIntyre’s segment Tomorrow’s Headlines Today every Friday afternoon; and I look forward to hearing what’s next on Herd Line News, an everyday segment where the two hosts dive into the hottest topics in sports.
Since joining The Lead, I have interviewed and written about many prominent sports personalities in the industry, and I have had a blast doing it. So, why should I not ask the co-host of my favorite sports show for an interview, hoping he gives me the time of day?
I must admit, I felt like a kid again, getting D.M.’s from McIntyre as we were working on agreeing to a time to talk (let me tell you it’s not easy coming up with a scheduled time, as McIntyre leads an incredibly busy life). Those moments spoke to how much I idolize “J-Mac” and why.
The fact that McIntyre goes to a commercial and takes time to message me is something I don’t take lightly. That’s memorable because it shows the kind of person he is, and it’s something I’ll never forget.
No Days Off
To say Jason McIntyre leads an incredibly busy life is an understatement. The man owns a soccer team, appears on Fox Sports television, and hosts his own podcast with iHeartRadio. Despite all of that, he still finds time to cherish his wife and kids, regularly attending basketball games and volleyball tournaments.
McIntyre wears many hats, which can be grueling, but he has them all under control. “You just have to make it work,” McIntyre said. “Be consistent, show up every day, you can’t really cheat it in the sports space. You must pick your spots, find what works and what doesn’t. Drill down on certain topics that you are an expert in, and attack with consistency, never give up and stay grinding.”
Early Life
Despite his fast-paced lifestyle now, McIntyre didn’t have a particularly remarkable childhood. He even noted during the interview, “It wasn’t that exciting”. He turned what he described as a normal start into a life filled with achievement, hustle and national spotlight.
“I grew up in New York, moved to Virginia. My brother and I were normal kids,” McIntyre said. “Dad had a job, mom worked from home, and started a business from home, which kind of gave me my entrepreneurial spirit. I was obviously obsessed with sports. My uncle on my dad’s side of the family played on the Caribbean national soccer team. That’s where I gained a love for sports.”
If he wasn’t reading the latest sports columns by Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser in the Washington Post — delivered to his house every morning — McIntyre was playing basketball every day after school.
“I thought I was going to the NBA in like sixth grade,” he laughed. “I legit thought I was going to the NBA. So, freshman year comes around and I show up and I’m like, damn, everyone got kind of big. I had not hit a growth spurt, and I didn’t even make final cuts.
“I was dejected, bro. That was kind of the wake-up call.”
Life Lessons
Starting with his NBA rejection, McIntyre highlighted several moments in his life that shaped him into who he is today, both as an entrepreneur and a professional in sports media.
“I get this job at a car wash down the road,” McIntyre said. “They have me picking up trash. I was like, wait a minute, this is a job drying cars, not picking up trash. Then they had me drying towels, so I basically checked out and ended up getting fired. I realized I didn’t want to do handy things; everyone has their thing and handy work is not mine.”
This eventually led him to a job as an accounting assistant for a family friend’s business. It was all so new for him, but he credits this period of his life with helping develop his professionalism and entrepreneurship mindset.
“I’ll never forget, I had to wear a tie the entire summer,” McIntyre said. “I would go to McDonald’s every day for breakfast and get this stupid sandwich. By two weeks, I was like, I’m cutting into my earnings, because I’m eating this McMuffin every day for breakfast. So I cut the McDonald’s and packed lunch. These are the lessons I took with me to my first journalism job.”
First Taste of Reporting
After facing the trials and tribulations of figuring out his niche as a young man — including not making the high school basketball team — Jason McIntyre was entering his latter teenage years with disappointment. Seeing this, his parents recognized and acknowledged his undying passion for sports. Rather than letting that admiration for sports fade, they made a suggestion that would quietly shape his future.
“I call up the local newspaper,” said McIntyre, “and I say, ‘Do you guys need anybody to like answer phones and cover high school games?’ They say, ‘Sure, are you 16?’ I said, ‘No’. So, I’d wait until I was 16 and got my license. I would start taking calls on high school baseball games. Then they started sending me to cover sporting events. That was the start to me becoming a sports guy.”
The experience with the local newspaper proved that this new endeavor wasn’t a fluke; this was his ‘thing’. This was what he excelled at. What started with covering games in high school soon progressed into college.
Jason McIntyre’s Collegiate Career
After two years at Virginia Tech, McIntyre transferred to James Madison University. Shortly after transferring, he would get the opportunity to cover a magnificent Michael Vick performance where James Madison got handled by the dual-threat quarterback.
There, he started working for both the local newspaper and student newspaper, and he recalled an eye-opening experience that helped shape his growth in the industry.
“I started working for the local paper, and [editor] Chris Simmons was a great mentor. He had an eye for talent,” McIntyre said. “You know you’re in college, and you think you’re cool. [One night], all my boys were out at the bar, and I no-showed the local paper [the next day]. A week later, Chris comes up to me and says in the quietest voice, ‘You know, Jason, I shouldn’t even let you back here, that’s unacceptable.’ I never blew off an assignment again.”
Upon graduation, McIntyre landed an internship at the Greensboro News and Record, where he had the opportunity to cover one of the most legendary college basketball rivalries in the country, “Tobacco Road.” After his time in Greensboro, he secured a job in New Jersey, at the Herald News; it was there that he made a breakthrough in the sports journalism industry.
Pivotal Career Moment
Herald News was the sister company of the Bergen Record, two New Jersey-based newspapers, the latter of which is much larger than the former. After being treated like the younger kid for far too long, the owner eventually got smart. “[The owner] was like, ‘wait a minute, why do we have high school for the sister paper and high school for the main paper, let’s merge them,’” McIntyre stated.
“So, I get called up and that’s when I’m like, I got a shot here, and of course Adrian Wojnarowski and a bunch of other big-name guys were at the paper then. I befriended them and showed them my work and worked my way up the ladder.”
At the time, the internet was starting to become more than just a place to reach out to friends; it had become a platform for reading the next big story. McIntyre, wise beyond his years, purchased his own URL to stay ahead of the curve. Instead of relying on the old-fashioned way, he could now email sports editors directly and market himself more effectively.
“I was starting to get offers around the country,” McIntyre said. “A colleague of mine sees it on my screen in our little cubicles. He went and told management. He said, ‘Hey, I don’t know what Jason is doing, but he’s posting his articles on this website.’ I got called into the office and [right after] I was like, ‘I have to get out of here; this is a joke.'”
“That kind of rerouted my mind; the internet was taking over.”
Branching Out Independently
Young and living in New York City, what better way to enjoy life than to embrace everything the city had to offer — the clubs, the restaurants, the access — that’s exactly what Jason McIntyre got the opportunity to do while working for the celebrity magazine Us Weekly, covering Jessica Alba and many other high-profile celebrities.
Tabloid journalism was a different world from sports, but one that taught him to understand what captures audiences, how to pursue stories in a timely manner, and prepared him for the fast-paced nature of sports media. The environment at Us Weekly ultimately gave McIntyre the professional foundation he needed to launch his own website.
“I started freelancing on the side for ESPN and CBS, and at that time, around 2006, I launched my website, The Big Lead. It started as a blog for fun; there weren’t many sports blogs out there. I would wake up around 6 [a.m.] and listen to Howard Stern. I would get my articles written and then get on the Subway and go to Us Weekly.”
Strategically, McIntyre would space the articles out throughout the day and then work his normal job. He would return home at night, write up a couple more articles and post those as well. Basically, he was working two jobs, building equity on the side, and he was absolutely Babe Ruth-Ing it out of the park.
McIntyre was doing so well that he and his wife agreed on his quitting his full-time job with Us Weekly and working on his website full-time. It wasn’t even an issue. He had the traffic, and people wanted to advertise with him. It all worked out tremendously.
Server Crash Leads to TV
He even survived a knockout during the peak of his site. No, McIntyre did not get knocked out; his website got blown up and booted offline for 48 hours. The person behind the flooded site? Colin Cowherd.
During his syndicated talk show, Cowherd essentially encouraged his listeners to all simultaneously visit The Big Lead. The mindset behind it was to get as many visits to the site as possible that the server could not handle it, and the site would crash. It’s known as a denial of service. “I’m panicking during this,” said McIntyre. “I’m getting calls from The New York Post, asking me who I am. I wasn’t ready to come out about it yet. Six months later, Sports Illustrated asks if I want to put my name on the site. So, they wrote about it and that was a big step for me.”
Ironically, in a twist he never saw coming, this chaotic situation foreshadowed the role he now embraces daily alongside Colin Cowherd, on The Herd.
“A year and a half later, after he blew up the site, I went up to Bristol, CT, to do a story on him, and I met him. We became friendly and a few years later he was like, ‘Hey I’m leaving for Fox and we are looking for guys. Do you want to come?’ I was like, ‘Hell yea!’
“They were looking for new and creative people that weren’t ESPN individuals. So, I moved across the country with my family and started with Fox.”
New Beginnings
Jason McIntyre was once nervous to be in front of the camera, which is why it was a good thing they didn’t just thrust him into the starting lineup of one of the most successful sports talk shows in America right off the bat.
He would run test shows in L.A. McIntyre did test shows with Kyle Brandt, Nick Wright, and a selection of other prominent broadcasters in the industry.
“I would go on The Herd the next day, I never wore any makeup or was under the bright lights, but you get used to that stuff quickly. Within a month, it was no big deal.”
Following a brief hiatus prompted by organizational changes at Fox, McIntyre was reminded how unpredictable the sports industry can be. Still, he remained consistent and stayed patient, eventually finding his way back in front of the camera. “I felt like a colossal failure,” he said. “I did digital stuff with Fox. Then, I would go on other shows as a guest or fill in or whatever. I was able to stick around, rather than get dusted or blown out. Never give up and just sticking with it, you just got to figure it out. That’s kind of part of life.”
Ma, I Made it!
In 2022 The Herd was looking for a new host, leading to McIntyre becoming full-time cohost of the show. He joined Fox Sports in 2016, so given the prior experience he had already built up, he was an instant success.
McIntyre and Cowherd have been through the ups and downs; it’s likely part of the reason they make such a great duo on the show. McIntyre often plays the challenger, pushing back and creating tension, which is a dynamic that Cowherd appreciates. It keeps the show engaging, rather than the two just agreeing every time. Throughout his time working with Cowherd, McIntyre has always admired his approach to each show and the worth ethic behind it.
“I like to think I have a good work ethic,” McIntyre said. “He’s older than me and he’s a grinder. That guy is up early and consistent every single day. The key to the show is staying interesting. The days of direct sports talk, this happened and this was the score, that’s over. You need to contextualize it, so that when you’re driving, you’re not changing the channel. I don’t think there is anybody like him.”
Reflection and Biggest Support
It’s remarkable to look back at the 48-hour chaos of The Big Lead nearly two decades ago. Cowherd almost cost McIntyre his site, and now the two have built so much together ever since. The near disaster has been transformed into a powerhouse partnership on The Herd, proving that resilience, growth and even chaotic beginnings can create one of the most dynamic and impactful duos in sports media.
While McIntyre found his rhythm alongside Colin Cowherd, there was someone who was in his corner, before the studio lights and the national spotlight — his wife. She was supporting his early morning routine of blog posting, his late-night whirlwind of ideas, and his leap-of-faith decisions that were the foundation to his career success.
“My wife totally believed in me when I didn’t even know if anything would work,” McIntyre said. “I quit my job to become a full-time sports blogger. That was a major risk for her and I, but she had complete faith. Also, it’s a rough sell when you have to move your family clear across the country for a chance on TV. Some of these guys, the shelf life isn’t good on TV. Somehow, here we are 10 years later.”
Looking back on a journey that began with high school baseball fields and led to a national co-hosting seat, McIntyre emphasizes that elite sports media careers aren’t built overnight. Instead, they are forged through steady persistence, the grit to overcome setbacks, lessons learned, and a commitment to show up even when the next step is uncertain.
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