Inside look at Linda Cohn’s second act after ESPN retirement

Linda Cohn isn’t “going off into the sunset.”

The Hall of Fame broadcaster, who has anchored more editions of “SportsCenter” on ESPN than anyone in history, announced Monday that she’s leaving the Worldwide Leader after 34 years — and she’s carrying that momentum into her next chapter.

“I’m excited about what’s next, and I’m not sad about what’s ending,” Cohn said in an interview with The Post on Tuesday. “… I’m looking forward my to my next project where I could have complete freedom.”

Cohn’s next act, which will be announced next month, will marry “freedom and fun” and extend her voice into spaces beyond just sports, such as pop culture and music.

She also wants to take on speaking engagements, utilize her social media for content creation and bolster her YouTube channel to continue communicating with those that grew up watching her deliver sports on television.

“I don’t want people to see the retirement word and thinking I’m going off into the sunset,” Cohn said. “I want to share my story… and continue to inspire young women. I don’t want that to stop and if that’s my only claim to fame, inspiring young women to get into sports or follow their dreams, I’m great with that.”

Cohn signed on for one more year with ESPN last June after flirting with the idea of retirement when the company relocated “SportsCenter” from Los Angeles to Bristol, CT in March 2025.

“I didn’t want to go back to Bristol,” Cohn said. “I really enjoyed being in Los Angeles. My daughter [Sammy] moved out here a year after I did eight years ago, and it just caught me by surprise [when ESPN relocated the sports news and information program].

“That’s when I started thinking about retiring. But then I said, ‘You know what, I’ll extend for another year, do some events for them, and then have a year to think about what’s next. And so that’s really how it started… I’m just figuring it out… I still have a lot to give. Now is the time to look back on the 34 years at ESPN. I can allow myself to do it.”

Cohn’s daughter and 30-year-old son Dan are from her previous marriage.

She gushed over her and Sammy’s shared fandom for Taylor Swift.

“She has written songs that have united women and also brought women that weren’t beauty queens to realize being themselves was just fine and that’s why I gravitated to this woman,” Cohn said of the 14-time Grammy winner, joking that she took out a loan to see Swift twice in concert.

“I mean, I really didn’t [take out a loan], but I broke the bank… God bless her, I’m glad she’s happy with [fiancé, Chiefs tight end] Travis Kelce.”

Cohn — a Long Island native, who got her start in radio in Patchogue — emphasized that her mantra early in her career was to “prove people wrong.”

“I was a kid with very low self-esteem. I wore thick glasses, I was bullied,” she said. “I always had to prove to people I knew what I was talking about and even when I ran into people, casually, I was so intent on sharing my knowledge of sports without being obnoxious, you know. ‘I really am a Knicks fan, and here’s why, and they are this and that.’

“My dad and I would go to Ranger games and go two hours on the Long Island Railroad to see the Rangers even though they weren’t good — and every Giants’ heartbreak turned into wonderful moments of being there with my brother in the stadium in Glendale when Eli Manning did the unthinkable and the Giants upset the Patriots and sent them to their first loss and ruined their unbeaten season. And then years later going to Indianapolis with my son, Dan, who grew up a Patriots fan to watch the Giants do that again. So this is in my blood and my DNA.”

Cohn explained that “it was a process” to establish herself as a woman delivering sports in a male-dominated field.

“I wasn’t perfect early on,” she said. “A few people, of course men, who didn’t think I could even be on television. I had one guy, I’m not gonna say his name, but he was an executive at the time at MSG and he said, ‘Wow, I really blew it… I never hired you.’

“… Two years into my run at ESPN, it was 1994, I was called into my boss’ office. I remember it because it was Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final, Rangers-Devils, and I wanted to rush home after the 6:00 p.m. Eastern ‘SportsCenter’ to watch the game.

“They called me in their office and said, ‘Linda, we love you, but we’re not gonna extend your contract unless the personality that we see from you around the newsroom and talking to us about sports is reflected on the air.’

“I didn’t want to be robotic, but I was a good girl, you know, I stayed in my lane, right? And I wore very conservative jackets and all this stuff and and you know, I didn’t make the look about me at all.

“Thank goodness I evolved and I was able to finally not worry about how I looked. Bu there was some insecurity there early on because I really felt like, I don’t wanna be too much… but I wanted to stand out the right way for the right reasons.”

She clearly impressed the bosses at ESPN as she continued to build on her legacy with the company for more than three decades later

Cohn — who hosted her first “SportsCenter” at 2 a.m. on July 11, 1992 — will make her final appearances on “SportsCenter” during the 6 p.m., 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET editions on Friday.

A Long Island native, Cohn’s career began in Patchogue, New York, where she served as a news anchor, writer and sports reporter for WALK-AM/FM in 1981.

She joined ESPN in July of 1992, and wore many hats as a host, reporter, commentator, interviewer, writer and play-by-play announcer.

Cohn, who was a collegiate hockey goalie at Oswego (NY) State University, most recently served as a host and reporter for ESPN’s hockey coverage.

She also has appeared in many of ESPN’s iconic “This Is SportsCenter” commercials.

“Linda Cohn is a legend and a major part of the history of ESPN,” said Burke Magnus, ESPN President, Content. “She has brought enthusiasm, personality and her love of sports to our audience for more than 30 years and her contributions to ESPN both in front of and behind the camera would make a very long list. We wish her all the best in her retirement and sincerely thank her.”

In 2017, Cohn was inducted into the National Sports Media Association (NSMA) Hall of Fame.