Pat McAfee has come a long way from his NFL punting days, becoming one of sports media's most outspoken personalities through his no-filter approach and willingness to do things differently.
After retiring from the Indianapolis Colts in 2017 at age 29 because of recurring knee problems, McAfee shifted his focus to broadcasting. He joined Barstool Sports before eventually starting his own media company, Pat McAfee Inc.
In 2022, McAfee joined ESPN's "College GameDay." A year later, "The Pat McAfee Show" moved to ESPN under a licensing agreement that allowed him to retain ownership of his company and maintain editorial control. His expanding role at the network has since made him one of the more prominent personalities in sports broadcasting.
However, former Barstool Heartland colleague Jeff 'Vibbs' Vibbert has now shared a less flattering account of his experience working with McAfee.
During an appearance on the "Out & About" podcast , Vibbert opened up about working with McAfee at Barstool Heartland in Indianapolis. The two worked together for just over a year, between 2017 and 2018.
Vibbert explained that working with McAfee could be challenging because of his unpredictable moods and behavior. He described the ESPN star as "always paranoid," adding that staff had to be careful around him and often accommodate his concerns.
He also highlighted communication issues that made working with McAfee exhausting. "Pat would just be like, 'Oh, yeah, we're fine,' and then talk [expletive] behind your back," Vibbs said. "And it was like, 'All right, dude. Like, just say what's going on.' It was exhausting. It was not a good time."
Although Vibbs said there were fun moments and he built genuine friendships with other crew members, he felt the overall work environment was overwhelming.
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Still, Vibbert made it clear that he didn't think McAfee was a bad person. "Sometimes his intentions are like, I think he's just doing this because he wants people to like him," Vibbert observed. "So it gets a little murky and weird there. I don't think he's an evil person. I think he needs to learn to control his emotions and like treat people better."
McAfee recently made headlines after responding to an Instagram video posted by the University of Utah. In the clip, students mocked him as "corny" and imitated his mannerisms. McAfee fired back, saying he hoped to "never return" and that the post made him feel "uncomfortable," while also raising concerns about his safety.
The university eventually removed the video and issued an apology, acknowledging that its attempt to create lighthearted content had "missed the mark." ESPN also released a statement backing McAfee's concerns about his safety.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network .
