Color analyst Tim Ryan spent the past five seasons sitting next to play-by-play announcer Ted Robinson as the duo handled San Francisco 49ers preseason television broadcasts and regular season games on the radio.
The 49ers announced on Wednesday morning that Ryan's partner, Robinson, was being replaced by long-time Oakland Raiders play-by-play announcer Greg Papa. The Raiders fired Papa in July after 21 years as the team's radio voice.
Ryan, who joined Gary Radnich on KNBR Wednesday and is always open and candid during interviews, said he just recently learned of the news. He went on to share his thoughts on the broadcast booth roster change.
"Number one, I'm going to say that I'm going to miss Ted like crazy," Ryan said. "We, in at least in my opinion, had a great five years together. He is an absolute professional, and I wish him well. And anything he does, he's going to be great at it.
"But I'm going to miss him, and I'll be honest with you, I just really found out about it recently, so I'm not upset. I just feel a little bit bad for Ted because I've got so much respect for him."
Shortly before the 49ers sent out a press release announcing the change, Robinson shared via Twitter that he was moving on from the team's radio booth but would continue to represent the organization in other capacities.
Ryan's comments reaffirm what Papa indicated earlier in the day (see below) — that Robinson was not onboard with the change. That doesn't mean Ryan isn't excited to work with Papa, who is an accomplished broadcast personality himself.
"Fired up," Ryan said of the opportunity. "I'll do 49er games with anybody, but Greg is without question an outstanding play-by-play man. We all know him from all those years with the Raiders. He's a football head, which I dig. So I can anticipate that it's going to be pretty good."
You can listen to the entire interview with Ryan below.
Papa, now the new voice of the 49ers, shared his thoughts on the opportunity.
"I am sympathetic to Ted and his family on the loss of the job," Papa said on Wednesday during the "The Greg Papa Show" on 95.7 The Game. "I know this is a job that he loved. He did it at a very high level for a long time, so I'm very conflicted on how I want to portray this today.
"I am overwhelmed. I am honored. I am humbled to accept this job. The 49ers really did not allow me to become a free agent. They reached out to me immediately after the Raiders news became public in July."
Papa made it clear that he at no point solicited to replace Robinson. He figured on re-evaluating things after the season until the 49ers came calling and he hopes to have a long stint with his new team.
"My mindset was to finish the football season this year and see what job I could get in the NFL next year, and the 49ers never allowed that to happen," Papa said. "They never allowed me to reach free agency. They made it clear they wanted me to be a part of their future, and I hope to do 49ers games as long as I did Raiders games or even longer."
You can listen below to a sympathetic Papa as he discusses replacing Robinson.
