Mike Golic Jr forging his own path

 

The Golic name is synonymous with Notre Dame. Bob and Mike became stars at the university and beyond. While Mike Golic Jr has followed in his famous dad's footsteps, he's also forging his own path with his own distinct flair.

For Mike Golic Jr, Notre Dame was a natural fit.

"For me, it was always built into the idea of family and seeing what it had done for the people in my family. My mom and dad met here, it made them the people that they were. But even separately from that, every time I was on campus you just felt that difference. It just felt right every time," Mike Golic Jr said.

His dad, Mike Golic Sr, and both of his uncles played football at Notre Dame.

His mom Chris graduated from Saint Mary's College.

Junior played center on the undefeated 2012 Irish team that faced Alabama in the BCS National Championship game.

"He could have been in your shadow. That could have been intimidating, but it seemed like he has just very naturally made his progression through all of this," Allison Hayes said.

"The shadow, he knows nothing about that because he is always out front," Golic Sr. said.

After Golic Sr.'s 8 year NFL career came to an end, he made a name for himself at ESPN.

"What do you remember about being a little kid and tossing the football around with your dad in the backyard?" Allison said.

"I think just that was a space where we were normal. It didn't matter what his job was. It didn't matter how often he was on TV. The question I always get is, 'What's it like to see your dad on TV?' And I don't know what it's not like. That's what's normal to me," Golic Jr. said.

Junior grew up tagging along with dad from the sidelines to studios so when his own football career came to an end, broadcasting was once again, a natural fit

Now father and son work alongside each other every day on ESPN's Golic and Wingo Radio Show

"I figure that's kind of my job to come in there and stir the pot. You've got him and Trey who are both 50 something year old guys and I storm over there as the millennial on set. Everyone else coming into this for the first time might say, 'There's Mike Golic, he was on Mike and Mike for two decades. He's really established, he's a broadcasting Hall of Famer, how am I going to come in and check him?' That's just dad, I will come in and check him every day," Golic Jr. said.

Dad is enjoying every minute of it.

"I thought, 'Wow, you get to work with your kid. That doesn't happen too often.' but overall it's really kind of rejuvenated me to say 'I want to do this for a little while longer,'" Golic Sr. said.