By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – This will take some getting used to because you don’t just replace a legend whose voice and expertise have been such an integral part of Hawkeye football for over four decades.

With Ed Podolak transitioning from the radio booth, University of Iowa Athletic officials have to figure the best way to move forward without him and be thankful for what they had as a beloved and devoted radio color analyst.

Podolak achieved stardom on the field, and in the radio booth as a Hawkeye.

In between that, the Atlantic native became an NFL star with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Fans and members of the media have relied on Podolak for over four decades to explain what was happening on the football field like only he could.

His playing experience, coupled with his vast knowledge of the game and his ability to express himself in ways that made it easy for the casual fan to understand what was unfolding on game day made Podolak a natural as the Hawkeye football color analyst.

It’ll be weird not having him in the booth on game day, but this day was inevitable.

Iowa Athletic officials, obviously, knew this day would come and they have a plan moving forward.

But if they’re open to suggestions for a possible successor to Podolak, look no further than former Iowa football player Anthony Herron, who played for both Hayden Fry and Kirk Ferentz at Iowa.

Herron has worked for the Big Ten Network as a game and studio analyst, NFL Network as an analyst for Arena Football, and NBCSN as a college football analyst.

He also worked as a college football analyst for the Pac-12 Network beginning in 2013.

Herron is also a college football commentator for Chicago sports radio station WSCR  “670 the Score” and Chicago Bears commentator for Chicago TV station WFLD.

In addition, he is also a host for the Sirius XM Big Ten Radio channel.

So, in other words, the 44-year-old Herron is more than qualified to succeed Podolak as the radio color analyst for his alma mater.

Herron checks all the boxes as a former Hawkeye defensive lineman, and as a former NFL player who has since made a name for himself as a television and radio broadcaster.

With Herron’s vast experience, it is reasonable to think that the transition would be easy for him.

It actually could come down to whether Herron could fit the Iowa color job into his already busy schedule and make it work for him, and for his family, financially.

He is from Bolingbrook, Illinois, and currently lives in the Chicago area with his wife and kids.

So with Herron already living in the Midwest, that could make it easier for him to handle the traveling that goes with the job .

Another name that has been mentioned as a possible replacement is former Iowa quarterback Paul Burmeister, who currently works as a sportscaster with NBC Sports and NBC Olympics, working primarily as a play-by-play voice and studio host across a wide range of platforms.

Prior to his arrival at NBC in 2014, Burmeister spent a decade at the NFL Network as a studio host.

Burmeister is also the radio voice of Notre Dame football, a job he has held since 2018.

The former Iowa City West High graduate would seem more qualified to be Iowa’s play-by-play voice for football, but that job has belonged to Gary Dolphin since 1997.

Burmeister would be a great choice to succeed Dolphin as the Iowa play-by-play voice when Dolphin ultimately decides to step down.

Say the names Dolph and Eddie and Hawkeye fans know immediately to whom you’re referring.

And while it would take some time to get used to Dolph and Anthony, fans would eventually get used to  hearing it.

So again, Iowa should at least reach out to Anthony Herron to gauge his interest.

And should he decide that he wants the job, then make it happen.